Phantom's Secret Love
by Captain Spider
Summary: Danny and Ember are a couple, but no one knows about it. When someone finds out about their relationship, Danny's life begins to fall apart around him. And what do the strange dreams he's been having, have to do with any of it?
1. Suspicious

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of its characters. They all belong to Butch Hartman and Nickelodeon. **

**To those who have been waiting, this is a sequel to my last story, Ghostly Christmas. If you haven't read it don't worry, you don't need to read it to understand what's happening. **

**I'd like to thank by beta reader, ****DigitalPhantom****. She really helped with the grammar and spelling, and made this chapter far better than it originally was.**

**Chapter 1: Suspicious**

_His white hair and neon green eyes were hard to miss as he walked into the dimly lit bar, his heavy boots thumping as they made their way across the wooden floor. Though the windows were clean enough, the eerie black and green sky, a normality around here, did nothing to brighten the room._

_There were many ghosts present, some that he recognized, others he didn't. A few pairs of eyes flicked in his directions, a few whispers followed him, but neither trailed him for long. Once upon a time, back when the whispers followed him like a shadow, the comments along the lines of 'but he's so young? Surely that's not…poor boy, he's just a kid…' He never had the words to describe how much he'd hated that. To hell if he wasn't old enough. Where was it written that he had to be a certain age to be a hero? He had more scars than those whose whispers trailed him could ever dream of, so he'd be damned if he wasn't more than a kid. _

_Taking a seat, he tapped his hand against the counter. The bartender raised an eyebrow; it was obvious that the boy wasn't of the legal drinking age, but he stayed silent as he poured the drink and handed it to the ghost teen._

"_Mind if I sit here?"_

_The boy looked up, his eyes finding a familiar blue-skinned woman next to him. "Whatever," he said before returning to his drink._

_The woman sat down and ordered herself a glass of beer._

_He watched as the girl beside him downed her glass of beer. At one time, they had been enemies, fighting on opposite ends of the law. He was a hero, she was a villain. He fought for truth and justice; she fought for power and wealth. He was good, she was evil. It was just that simple. Now, things had changed; all differences had been set aside, all labels forgotten. They were simply two specters beaten down by the harsh blows that life had dealt them, seeking only to drown out their sorrows. They both had needs, they were both lonely, and both had their needs. _

_Being so close to his former enemy gave the boy a chance to get a better view of her body. Her long, flaming blue hair tied up in its usual ponytail cascading down the length of her back. His eyes swept over her body, taking in every curve of her body. Dressed in her usual black leather pants and black tank top, which barely covered her upper body, she also had a black jacket zipped up over the shirt, open just enough to show off her ample chest._

_The girl smirked, noticing the boy looking her over. "See something you like?"_

_The boy didn't blush, or even try to hide what he had been doing. Instead, he simply smirked. "Maybe. How about you?"_

_The girl took that chance to get a better look at the boy's attire. He was dressed in a form-fitting black t-shirt under a black leather jacket, a pair of black jeans and heavy-duty motorcycle boots. The shirt, as snug as it was, showed off the developing muscles that lay beneath, the pants equally as tight, gave her a good view of his toned backside__. A grin spread over her face. "Definitely."_

_The girl raised hang to get the bartender's attention. "Hey, two more over here."_

_The bartender nodded, setting two more drinks in front of the ghosts._

_As the night dragged on, the two continued their drinking and flirting, the collection of glasses growing, until it covered most of the bar counter in front of them. What had been a slight buzz had become a full-blown bout of drunkenness._

_The girl leaned over and whispered into the ghost boy's ear. "What do you say we go somewhere a little more, private?"_

_The boy nodded and the pair quickly left the bar. As it turned out, the private destination the girl had in mind was her bedroom._

_The second they made it inside, the boy grabbed the ghost girl and began kissing her passionately, wrapping his arms around her as she returned the kiss, pressing her body closer to his, her soft breasts pressing against him roughly. He ran his tongue across the girl's lips before slipping it deftly into her mouth, a pleasured moan escaping her as his hands drifted down to her rear._

_She let her hands run over the boy's chest, feeling the strong muscles beneath, making her way to his shoulders, slowly edging off his jacket until it feel to the floor._

_They continued to kiss and grope for a while before their mutual need for air forced them to break away, at which point the female took the opportunity to cast her own jacket aside, revealing both the tank top underneath and the generous amount of cleavage it exposed._

_Smiling, the boy dropped another quick kiss on her lips, lowering his lips swiftly to her neck, his teeth grazing gently against the pale skin as he bit and sucked on the sensitive skin, occasionally flicking his tongue out as he continued his ministrations. His hands wandered over her body, caressing her skin, his touch eliciting a series of moans from the girl within his grasp._

_The girl's knees began to buckle, sure that she had somehow managed to slip into Heaven. Her arms wrapped around him for support, and she ran her sharp nails across his back, the shirt no defense against her actions, and he groaned in pleasure at her actions._

_It wasn't long before they stumbled across the room, falling backwards onto a surprisingly soft mattress, and the girl pressed her lips against his as her hands wandered downward to his belt…_

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Blue eyes opened slowly, glaring at the offending alarm clock on the bedside, its display showing 7:25 AM until a well-placed ghost ray turned it into a smoking pile of ashes. Rolling over, he yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he sat up, casting a quick look at the now-destroyed alarm clock before shaking his head.

'_That's the third one this month. I've_ really_ got to stop doing that. Ah, whatever, I have to get ready for school anyway.'_

Slowly, and with a tinge of regret, he pushed himself off of the bed and headed for the bathroom. Once he showered, brushed his teeth and dressed, he transformed, flying out of his room and towards school.

Smiling as he drifted through the air, Danny wheeled through the sky. The reason for his good mood was a certain ghostly rocker named Ember McLain. It had been over two months since they had started dating, two months that had been the best of his life.

As the school neared, Danny turned himself invisible as he headed into a nearby alley. Once he was sure no one was looking, he landed, returning to his human form. As the familiar white rings made their way along his body, they revealed a very different outfit from the one that he normally wore. Gone were the white and red tee, blue jeans and white tennis shoes, and in their place were a snug black tee, a pair of black leather pants, combat boots quite similar to Sam's and a pair of spiked wristbands.

Danny walked out of the alley, headed towards the main doors of the school, and he spotted his friends, Sam Manson and Tucker Foley, sitting on the steps, waiting for him. "Hey, Sam. Hey, Tuck," he said.

"Hey, Danny," they both responded. As Danny got closer, however, both noticed his unusual wardrobe.

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Dude, what's with the new clothes?"

Danny shrugged. "Just though I'd try something new."

Tucker mimed Danny's motion. "Whatever. What do you think, Sam?...Sam?"

Sam wasn't listening; she was too absorbed in ogling Danny. _'Oh, my God, Danny looks so hot in that. I didn't even know that he could look that good.'_ She was finally snapped back into reality as Tucker began waving his hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention. "Huu…what?"

"I said, what do you think of Danny's new look?" he repeated.

Sam turned her head, desperately trying to hide the blush that was quickly rising to her cheeks. "It's nice. I think it looks nice."

Danny raised an eyebrow, having caught Sam's flutter. "Are you okay?"

"Fine…I'm fine. We should probably get to class. Don't want to be late, you know," she said. Grabbing her friends by their wrists, Sam practically dragged the two into the school, but as she failed to pay attention and look where she was going, she ran straight into Dash Baxter.

Dash turned and glared. "Hey, watch it!" His glare quickly shifted into a smirk when his eyes found who it was that had bumped into him. "Well, if it isn't Fenturd. What's with the new look? You spending so much time with your freaky little goth girlfriend that you're dressing like her now?"

Danny glared at the jock. "First of all, Dash, it's none of your business. Secondly, Sam is _not_ my girlfriend."

Dash looked Danny over for a moment before a light bulb went off in his head. "That's right! You're going out with that chick with the weirdo hair."

Danny's eyes widened slightly. _'Crap, I didn't think Dash had enough brains to actually remember that far back,' _he thought, remembering when he and Ember had run into Dash on their first date. He gulped, stammering over a hasty response. "I…um…I don't know what you're talking about."

Dash rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just get out my way, losers." Moving past the group, he shoved Danny to the side, pushing the teen head-first into the lockers.

As Danny fell to the floor, hand rubbing the back of his head, Tucker and Sam were at his side, helping him back onto his feet.

"You okay, man?" Tucker asked worriedly.

Danny's hand gingerly massaged the back of his head as he nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." he answered, glaring at Dash's retreating form, forcing down the urge to blast him in the back with a ghost ray.

"What did Dash mean about you going out with the girl with weird hair?" asked Tuck.

Danny gulped again, nervously rubbing the back of his neck, searching for a viable excuse. "I…well, you know how Dash is, Tuck. He probably saw me talking to someone and thought that we were going out. Heck, considering how much of a moron he is, he probably saw me talking to a guy."

Sam sighed. The second she'd heard Dash talk about Danny having a girlfriend, her heart had leapt into her throat. "So I take it that you're _not_ going out with anyone?" she asked, her eyebrow quirked up in question.

Danny smiled, acting as though nothing was wrong. "Come on, you guys. If I was seeing someone, do you really think that I'd keep it a secret from you?" The second the words left his mouth, a wave of guilt washed over him, knowing that he was indeed hiding his relationship from them. But what could he do. His friends would never understand him falling for a ghost, let alone one that, only a few months ago, had been their enemy. He would simply have to continue keeping his relationship a secret.

Seeming satisfied with the answer, his friends nodded before they all headed off to class.

- - - Line break - - -

Later on that day, the three were walking to their final class when Danny heard his name called. Turning, he found none other than Star, the school's second most popular female, running towards him. "Um…Hey, Star, what's up?" he asked.

Star smiled, batting her eyelashes as she looked at Danny. "I just wanted to say that I think your new outfit looks _really_ hot," she said, leaning in to plant a kiss on his cheek, whispering into his ear, "Call me."

Sam balled her hands into fists as the girl walked away, contemplating how much trouble she'd get in if she gave Star a black eye.

Danny shook his head as the three walked into their classroom, finding a small strip of paper with a phone number scrawled on it tucked in his hand.

Tucker looked over at Danny as they dropped into their seats. "Dude, that's like the hundredth time that's happened today," he commented.

"Tell me about it," Danny answered. "Just look at all of these." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of paper strips, each one with a different girls' name and phone number written on it. "You know what the irony of this is? Last year, I would have given anything to be _this_ popular. Now, I couldn't care less if I wanted to."

Tucker smiled. "In that case, why not slide some of those numbers my way?" he said, holding out his hands.

Danny shrugged. "Sure." He held the papers out before charging his hand with a small burst of ecto-energy, turning all the papers he held to ashes that fluttered down into Tucker's expectant palms.

"No!" cried Tucker, desperately trying to take the ashes that littered the desk and put them back together.

- - - Line break - - -

Eventually, the final bell rang, releasing the children from the confines of the school.

Once outside, Tucker inhaled deeply. "Ahh, sweet freedom. I thought we'd _never _get out of there."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Tucker, we were only in there for seven hours, and that's the same amount of time we spend in school _every_ day."

He shrugged. "Whatever. So, what are the plans now?"

"We could head to the Nasty Burger," she replied. "My treat?"

Danny shook his head as he turned to him. "Sorry, guys. I'd love to, but I really gotta get home."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "Dude, school only just let out."

"Yeah, but I really need to get home. I got buried under homework tonight," he said.

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "But all he gave was some reading?"

Danny gulped realizing he had been caught in his own lie. He rubbed the back of his neck, desperately trying to come up with an acceptable excuse. "Ya, but I…um…have…extra credit. Ya, Lancer gave me a chance to do some extra credit. To pull my grades up."

Tucker cast a confused look at the half-ghost before accepting his answer. "Okay, dude. We'll see you tomorrow then."

Danny nodded. "See ya," he said before turning and walking off towards home.

Sam watched; an aura of disappointment evident, as Danny walked away. Lately, it seemed that he was always busy, always making up excuses why he couldn't hang out with them. She was starting to wonder if he was just blatantly avoiding them.

Tucker looked at her, recognizing the all-too-familiar look of dejection she wore. "You really should tell him, you know."

Sam only replied with a glare.

Tucker raised his hands in defense, not wanting to catch the brunt of the gothic girl's wrath. "All I'm saying is that if you don't do it soon, he's gonna find someone else. You saw what happened in school today."

Sam frowned. As much as she hated to admit it, Tucker had a valid point. _'I've been crushing on Danny for months now and I still haven't gotten the guts enough to tell him. I almost lost him to Valerie before, and now _every_ girl in school is after him. Tuck's right – if I don't tell him something soon, someone else will get to him first.'_ She sighed. "I'll tell him tomorrow," she murmured.

"Really?" Tucker asked, genuinely surprised. He'd been trying to get the two of them together for a while now, and if he had known that Danny failing to pay attention to her was the ticket to getting Sam to open up, he would have gotten Danny to do this months earlier.

Sam nodded. "Really."

"You're not going to chicken out at the last minute, are you?" he asked. He was skeptical, and with good reason, because every other time that Sam had made mention of telling Danny, she'd lost her nerve. Tucker had, by this time, lost count of how many times Sam's resolve had crumbled before.

"No, I won't," she replied, her voice full of confidence.

- - - Line break - - -

Danny continued walking until he reached his house. He entered the house, and walked through the living room. He passed by the kitchen, and spotted the rest of his family sitting at the table, eating dinner. His family stopped eating when they noticed him.

His mother smiled when she her son. "Hi honey. How was school?"

Danny shrugged. "Same old, same old." he said, than continued to his room.

"Do you want something to eat?" asked his mother.

Danny shook his head. "No thanks, I'm not hungry."

Maddie frowned as she watched as her teenage son ascended the stairs. She had noticed significant changes in her son recently. He had taken to wearing darker clothes, and listening to a more hard core brand of music. "Is it me, or does Danny seem different lately?"

"What do you mean different?" asked Jack.

"You know, the new clothes, the attitude. He just seems different?"

"Maybe he's a ghost!" Jack shouted, rising from his chair.

Maddie put a hand on her husband's shoulder, forcing him to sit back down. "Now Jack, remember what we talked about. We shouldn't accuse our children of being ghosts, just because their acting little odd."

Jazz stopped eating, and swallowed her food. "Besides, it's nothing to worry about. Danny has simply reached the age where he wishes to express his individually, through teenage angst, and non conformity." she said.

Jack blinked. "Come again?" he said, attempting to wrap his mind around what his daughter had just said.

Maddie smiled. Her husband was a very smart and creative man; he was a mechanical genius who could build almost any anything he could think of. However he was simply unable to understand explanations, when they were given in complicated terms. "She means he's going through a phase." she told her husband.

"Exactly." said Jazz. She continued eating her dinner, but cast a worried glance in the direction of her brother's room.

As Danny entered his room he, deposited his backpack onto the floor. The bag landed with a load thud. '_I swear that thing gets heavier every day.'_ He thought, rotating his shoulder to ease the soreness. He glanced out the window and saw that it was dark, and that the sun had already set. _'Better get going if I want to meet up with Ember.' _ He quickly transformed, and phased through his wall, then flew off into the night sky.

Outside Danny's room, his sister approached his door. Despite what she said earlier, she too had noticed a change in her brother's behavior. It wasn't just his clothes that had changed, it was his entire personality. He was more rebellious lately; and more secretive. He was contently going out, and when he returned, he never said a word about where he had been. She was sure he was keeping something from her. She raised her hand to the door, and knocked. "Danny, can I talk to you?"

When she didn't receive an answer, she knocked again. Again she was meet with silence. She tried one more time before opening the door, only to find that the room empty. "Danny?"

**That's it for the first chapter. Please Read and Review. I always make sure to respond to anyone who reviews. **


	2. In the Night Life

**Sorry it took me so long to put this chapter up. Mid-terms came up and i had to put all writing on hold. First up, a big thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Which includes, Invader Johnny, Hotstreak, The PhantomHokage, MochaYaoi, Yuul, Tri-Emperor of the Twilight, and Mare Dragon. **

**And also a special thanks to my Beta reader DigitalPhantom.**

**Also this story takes place after 'The Ultimate Enemy' so yes Jazz does know Danny is half-ghost, and helps him fight ghosts when she can. **

**Chapter 2: In the Night Life**

For over an hour, Danny flew invisibly through the sky. It was past dusk, and the sun had set by the time he reached his destination. He squinted as he saw a building come into view, increased his speed and, within a few minutes, was flying through the town.

Because of the nature of their relationship, it was hard to find places for the two of them have regular dates. Since they wanted to keep their relationship a secret, it made dating in Amity Park impossible. Danny Phantom was a celebrity in Amity Park – the second anyone stopped them together it would be front page news. Danny Fenton was pretty well known around Amity Park as well, and as he'd discovered on his first date, he seemed to have trouble avoiding people he knew. They decided the best thing to do was to have their dates in a neighboring town. It was a bit exhausting having to fly for almost three hours in order to go to and from their dates, but if that was the price he had to pay, to keep things secret and continue seeing his girlfriend, it was worth it.

He stayed invisible as he flew through the town, buildings flying by in the blink of an eye. He finally stopped when he reached the center of town. He looked around at the tall building that surrounded him, his eyes searching for a particular figure. _'Man, I wish Ember had been more specific about where to meet her.' _

His eyes stopped as he finally spotted her standing in the parking lot of an abandoned mall. He circled around the mall so that he was behind her. A grin spread across his face when he realized she didn't realize he was there. Quietly as he could, he landed and changed back to his human form.

"What took ya?" she said, not even bothering to turn around.

Danny frowned. _'How does she do that? She doesn't even have a ghost sense, but she always knows when I get here?' _

"Woman's intuition," said the female ghost.

Danny opened his mouth to ask how she did that, but the girl answered before he could.

"No, I'm not psychic, and yes, you're that predictable," she responded, still not turning around.

"Ok that's just creepy," he said, walking over to her.

"So what kept…you…?" Ember's jaw dropped, and her eyes went wide as she finally got a look at Danny's new attire. A single word escaped her lips. "Wow."

Danny walked up close to Ember, and bent down so he was eye-to-eye with her. He closed her hanging jaw with a small 'click', and with his hand still holding her chin, he looked her in the eyes and smiled. "I thought I'd try something new. You like?"

Ember opened and closed her mouth, trying to respond, but her brain couldn't form a single syllable, let alone words.

Danny smirked, relishing the look of shook on the girl's face. "I'll take that as a yes." He gave Ember a quick kiss. "So where are we going?"

Ember smirked. "You're looking at it."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "An old shopping mall?" he faked a smile, "How…cute."

Ember grinned, and chuckled slightly, "I know what you thinking and you are so wrong... Come on."

Danny shrugged, and followed the all-dressed-in-black-and-looking-sexy-as-hell Ember through the everlasting asphalt field and towards the shopping mall.

On their way, Danny could see bits of flashing lights and could swear he could hear the faint sound of techno music playing, which got slightly louder as they inched closer and closer to the mall. He asked Ember if she heard the music too so he wouldn't feel as if he was hearing things, but all she did was give her infamous sexy grin, and kept walking.

When the two got within fifty yards of the mall, Danny suddenly realized where Ember was taking him. He could clearly see flashing neon lights throughout the once abandoned mall and hear the now very audible music playing in the background, and realized were they were going.

"You're taking me to a rave?" he asked.

Ember rolled her eyes. "Wow, took you, like, ten minutes to figure that out."

Danny realized that he shouldn't have been that surprised at the event Ember had chosen for their date. Ember wasn't like other girls. Going to the movies wasn't her idea of a good time. Beating down thugs in the park was. A walk on the beach wasn't romantic, but flying through the city was. He wasn't sure if that was because she was a ghost, or simply because it was part of who she was. Compared to some of their other dates, this was normal. Still, the idea of going to a rave was a bit unnerving. "I've never been to one before," he confessed.

Ember smiled. "Relax, you're here with me, trust me."

Danny bit his lip in nervousness. "Ember….I don't know. I mean this is really nice of you, but I don't think this is the kind of date I…."

Danny was cut off by Ember kissing him fully on the lips, causing his mind to go blank and lose his train of thought.

"Trust me," she said.

Danny nodded and allowed the girl to lead him into the mall.

The moment they entered the mall, their ears were assaulted by the loud, rhythmic music. Dozens of speakers were positioned throughout the club, each one physically pulsating along with the energizing music. Yet it paled in comparison to the crowd moving in sync with it. Bright strobe lights flashed in wild patterns, causing everyone to appear to be dancing in slow motion.

There were hundreds of people packed into the mall, all bumping and grinding against each other as if they were animals in heat. Danny caught a glimpse a couple having sex on one of the couches, and another couple having sex right in the middle of the walkway. For some odd reason, seeing them do that made him kind of…"excited" as well. He had always heard about raves and how fun they were from the older kids in his classes. He expected as much since he was in high school, and was at that stage of partying like old drunk guys on New Year's Eve. But never in his wildest dreams did he expect to attend one himself.

He had to admit to himself that he was kind of nervous and scared about being at the Rave. He had also heard bad things about it too. Like people getting raped at raves, drugs and alcohol, sex of course, and all other sorts of crazy things. He reassured himself by reminding himself that he was a ghost, and that if anything happened he could handle it. Noticing a slight buzzing against his leg, he reached into his pants pocket, feeling his phone vibrating against his fingers. He took it out and looked at the caller ID, and saw it was Sam's number. Rather than head straight to the dance floor, they walked over to one of the nearby booths and took a seat. Both were slightly winded from the long flight from Amity Park and knew it would be better to rest before hitting the dance floor.

"Hey Sam!"

"_Hey Danny. What's all that noise I hear?"_

"Oh that's my parents." He said, easily lying to his second oldest friend.

"_Your parents?"_

"Ya, they're doing an experiment in sound waves, and it's pretty loud."

"_Oh, well listen the reason I'm calling is I wanted to tell you something_."

"What was that Sam?! I can't hear you!" he shouted so he could be heard over the noise, as he put a finger in his unoccupied ear in an attempt to better hear his friend.

"_I said I wanted to tell you something! I…"_

"Listen Sam, I can't hear you! I'll call you later!" He said, and then hung up. He turned his attention back to his date, who had a frown on her face.

"So, was that the goth chick?" said Ember, a bit of venom in her voice.

Danny rolled his eyes. "It's Sam. You can never get her name right, you know," he said smiling, attempting to lighten the mood.

Ember frowned as Danny talked to his friend. She knew that Sam had a crush on Danny, and wasn't fond of the fact that he took time out of their date to talk to her. She knew Danny would never cheat on her, but she still hated the fact another girl was hitting on her guy. The thought of the raven-haired girl fawning all over her guy while she was stuck at her place in the ghost zone infuriated her.

Danny saw the look on the girls face, and decided to act. He pulled her closer to him, causing Ember to be face-to-face with her beloved ghost boy, and her breast pressed against him, "Relax. I'm only interested in one girl, and that's you."

"Danny….." Ember kissed him," Thank you for making me that one girl."

Danny grinned. "Ember, you've always been that one girl. Just took me a few years to realize it."

Ember blushed and was soon in another passionate kiss. Soon, the dj put on a new song, and the whole room started shouting and getting wilder than ever. A smile formed on the ghost girl's face. "Come on babypop, let's dance."

Before Danny could say a word, Ember grabbed his hand, and led him through the sea of people, out onto the dance floor. At first the music was soft and smooth, but it soon picked up in intensity, as did their movements.

**In the night-light, do you see what you dream?  
All your troubles, are they all what they seem?  
Look around you, then you may realize  
All the creatures saw with the light. **

**And I might know of our future,  
But then, you still control the past.  
Only you know if you'll be together.  
Only you know if we shall last!  
**

Ember turned Danny around, so her back was pressed against his front, and started to grind against him. Danny blushed and felt himself getting "excited" again, and immediately grinded back, tilting his head back as he kissed her in the process.

**  
In the night-light, do you still feel your pain?  
For the valor you waited, never came!  
If you were able, would you go change the past?  
There's a furball with one last chance!  
And I might know of our future,  
But then you still control the past.  
Only you know if you'll be together,  
Tonight!  
**

Ember's voice pitched up over the music, "Come on, Danny! This is the best part!" She pulled him right against her, still swaying perfectly in step with the beat. After a brief second to gather his wits, Danny began to move with her. He was taken back at how fun it was to just let go, especially with his present company. This was part of why he enjoyed being with Ember. She was so spontaneous, and free-spirited. Even Sam, with her nonconformist attitude, rarely allowed herself cut loose.

**  
Cause every night I will save your life!  
And every night I will be with you!  
Cause every night I still lay awake,  
And I dream of an absolution!  
Cause every night I will make it right!  
And every night I will come to you!  
But every night it just stays the same,  
In my dream of an absolution!**

**  
**The music slowed, and with an invisible cue, the couples swirled together, separate from the rest. Ember wrapped herself firmly around the boy's body, her head buried in his chest. He felt the heat rise around him, and knew that not all of it was his. His hands found their way around her waist, causing a satisfied sigh from both.

**  
In the night-light, do you see what you dream?  
All your triumph, and all you'll ever be?  
Look around you, then you may realize,  
Happiness lies trapped in misery!  
And who knows what of our future?  
We can all try to change the past.  
Only you know if you'll be together,  
Tonight!  
**

As the beat picked up again, so did their movements. The two moved their bodies in time to the music, all the while keeping their eyes centered on each other. Danny watched as Ember swayed her body in time to the rhythm, twisting, and turning before his eyes. Ember smiled as she watched Danny dance to the music with reckless abandonment, cutting loose with moves and motions that keep her in a frenzy.

**  
Cause every night I will save your life!  
And every night I will be with you!  
Cause every night I still lay awake,  
And I dream of an absolution!  
Cause every night I will make it right!  
And every night I will come to you!  
But every night it just stays the same,  
In my dream of an absolution!  
**

The song slowed into a guitar and drum solo, and once again the two moved close together. She pulled him against her, still swaying perfectly in step with the beat. His hands traced their way through her hair, and down her backside.

**  
Cause every night I will save your life,  
And every night I will be with you!  
Cause every night I still lay awake,  
And I dream of an absolution!  
Cause every night I will make it right,  
And every night I will come to you!  
But every night it just stays the same,  
In my dream of an absolution!  
**

He tilted her head up, as bright blue eyes stared into glowing green. Slowly the two drew together, until their lips meet in a passionate kiss.

**  
And you'll see (And you'll see)  
What you'll be (What you'll be)  
And you'll see  
All you can (All you can)  
And every night (And every night)  
And every night (And every night)  
And every night (And every night)  
I will dream (I will dream)  
And you'll see (And you'll see)  
That this is my dream (What you'll be)  
And you'll see  
Every night  
I will always dream (Cause every night)  
And every night  
And every night  
I will dream (I will dream)**

As the song ended the couple finally broke apart, panting as they struggled to catch their breath.

As the couple continued to dance, they failed to notice a mysterious figure with blood-red eyes that was watching them from the shadows. "Soon, Danny. Soon, I'll destroy you, and everything you hold dear."

**Seems things are finally getting interesting. I hope you liked the scene where Danny leaves Ember speechless was a small tribute to my other story 'Ghostly Christmas'. The song is called 'Dreams of an Absolution' and is by Lee Brotherton.**

**Please Read and Review.**


	3. The Price of a Secret

**As always thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Tri-Emperor of the Twilight, Stephinie Crow Manson, Invader Johnny, The PhantomHokage, Kosmic, acosta perez jose ramiro, star struck fan,** **trent, weslderf222, and Chirssy-San.**

**Sorry it took so long to this chapter up. I had a bit of an e-mail mix up with my bata reader, but it's all fixed now. **

**Chapter 3: The Price of a Secret**

Deep within in the darkest reaches of the Ghost Zone stood an ancient clock tower, inside where an ancient and powerful ghost – Clockwork, the master of time – resided. The ghost was currently in the company of his least favorite specters, two of the many of the Observant High Council. Presently, the three ghosts were in front of one of the Time Ghost's time portals, watching the teen hero Danny Phantom interact with the evil spirit known as Ember McClain. The screen paused as Danny and Ember kissed.

"You see, it has already begun. We must act quickly," said the first Observant.

Clockwork, who was currently in his elderly stage, resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, yes. Danny's relationship with the female ghost will lead him down a vile road that will plunge the world into darkness. I know this," he said, as he changed into an adult. It always amazed him how the Observants insisted on lecturing about events he was already aware of.

"Then you know that something must be done," said the other Observant.

"I am well aware of the situation, and rest assured, I have already taken the necessary precautions," said Clockwork, changing into his child form.

The Observants turned to each other, now slightly worried. "What sort of precautions?" asked the first.

"I will use whatever methods I feel are necessary," stated the Time Master, changing into his elderly form as the transformation cycle began again.

"It is your methods that concern us," said the first Observant.

"Need we remind you of the side effect of the last time you 'did what you felt was necessary'?" said the second Observant, referring to the evil spirit imprisoned within the clock tower only a few scant feet from where the three of them now floated.

"Would you prefer to handle the matter yourself?" queried the ancient ghost.

"You know we cannot get involved," said the first Observant.

"Then I suggest you leave me to work," said Clockwork, turning away from the ancient ghosts. "I assume you remember were the exit is."

The Observants glared at the ghost, which was impressive considering they didn't have faces with which to properly glare. They wanted to speak out against the Master of Time, but as they desperately needed his help, they couldn't risk angering him. So, they simply turned and left.

Once the specters were gone, Clockwork returned to the frozen picture on the viewing mirror. His attention focused on Danny's happy face. "Once again, it seems your actions will decide the fate of two worlds, Daniel. Only this time, even my power may not be enough to save you."

---Line Break---

Back in the human world, Danny yawned as he ghosted through his window, and into his bedroom. He walked over to his bed, where he immediately collapsed onto the soft mattress. He was completely exhausted both physically and mentally. Last night had been the fourth night in a row he and Ember had gone out. _'Maybe now I can finally get some sleep.'_

"Danny. Time to get ready for school," came the sound of his mother's voice.

Danny groaned. _'So much for that.'_

With great regret, he pushed himself out of bed. He went into the hall, grabbed a towel from the closet, and lumbered to the bathroom. The first thing he needed to do was take a shower, to get rid of the lingering smell of smoke, alcohol and perfume that clung to his body like a second skin.

Danny turned on the faucet and set the water as cold as he could. Being half-ghost caused his body temperature to remain at an abnormally low degree, so he preferred taking cold showers to hot ones. It only helped that the ice cold water helped to wake him up a bit.

As he exited the shower, he caught a glance of himself in the bathroom mirror, and he was not pleased with what he saw. His eyes had bags under them from the lack of sleep, and his face was as pale as his ghost self. All these late-night dates were starting to affect his health. _'I __**really**__ need some sleep.'_

When Danny came down the stairs, he saw that his mother and father were already up, both of them sitting at the table working on some invention. His sister was nowhere to be seen, so he assumed that she had headed to school early, as she often did.

His mother looked up, smiling when she noticed her son. "Danny, come and sit down. There's some leftover toast if you want some," she said, pointing to the counter.

Danny shook his head. He was already running late for school. "No thanks, Mom, I'm in a hurry. I'll grab something at school." He quickly downed a cup of coffee that was sitting on the counter, grabbed his backpack, and ran out the door. Normally, Danny would simply fly to school, but he was so exhausted, he wasn't sure if he could stay airborne.

Just as he had thought, getting to school on foot seemed to take forever, and he ended up late to first period. He looked in and saw that class had already started, so, turning himself invisible and intangible, he walked into the class, sitting down at a desk near the back of the room. He waited a few moments until Mr. Lancer and the rest of the class had their attention focused elsewhere before turning visible once more.

A little later, Mr. Lancer was handing back papers, and he frowned when he reached Danny. He knew for a fact that the youth hadn't been there at the beginning of class, having somehow managed to sneak in. However, since he couldn't prove it, he simply handed the boy his paper and moved on.

Danny frowned when he saw the large F on his paper, the third he had gotten in as many tests. If he didn't do something, his C average would slip to a D, or worse, an F. He was tired, his grades were slipping, he was constantly ditching his friends, and it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with his family. Even his ghost hunting was starting to suffer. All the time spent with Ember was starting to take a heavy toll on his daily life.

While he hated to admit it, he knew needed to stop seeing Ember so often. He just needed to explain to her that he needed to take some time off in order to sort out his life. Of course with Ember, that was easier said than done. "I wish there was some way I could get some time to myself," he said to himself.

School seemed to last for forever, and the minutes felt more like hours. In class, Danny tried to pay attention, but he was having trouble concentrating, Mr. Lancer's voice seeming to fade in and out. He was dead tired from being up most of the night, and kept nodding off.

_Who would have ever thought it would come to this? __He had fought monsters, ghosts, bounty hunters, and would-be dictators. He had gone up against impossible odds and come out on top. Yet, in all his years, he never thought he'd find himself dealing with an opponent like this. His temper was reaching its boiling point as he growled at his opponent._

"_Stupid bow tie." _

_Currently, the boy was standing in front of a large mirror, dressed in a form-fitting black tux with a white shirt, struggling to tie the green bow tie that completed the ensemble._

"_Problems, punk?"_

_The boy turned to see Johnny 13 standing in the doorway. Like himself, he too was dressed in a black tuxedo. His normally untamed greasy hair was slicked back. He had a cigarette in between his lips, which were curled up into a smirk. _

"_So, you ready?" said the ghost, removing the cigarette from his mouth._

"_I will be as soon as I figure out how to tie this piece of crap," he said, still struggling with the cloth around his neck._

_The ghost rolled his eyes, amused to see such a great hero struggling with such a simple task. "Shadow, help."_

_Immediately, a black shadow-like creature emerged from the floor. The specter floated over to Danny, and easily tied the bow that the half-ghost had been struggling with for the last ten minutes._

_The boy frowned, slightly jealous because of how easily the other ghost had managed to correct the situation. "Showoff." _

_The ghost smirked. It was rare that he was able to outdo the ghost in front of him, and he relished the opportunity. "Come on. We better get going," he said before putting out the flaming stick in mouth and walking out._

_The boy nodded and followed. __He had never been this nervous before in his life._ _The thought of what he was about to do made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end_. _He was glad to have the older ghost at his side._

_It was funny how life worked. At one time, the two ghosts had been the most bitter of enemies, constantly attempting to beat the other into submission. Now they were best friends, each one willing to sacrifice their afterlife to save the other._

_A few seconds later the two arrived at their destination, and entered a large church-like structure. The room was well-lit, and the stained glass windows helped to block out the eerie green light that was a normality around here, giving the room a more wholesome atmosphere, befitting the current event. There were rows of wooden pews, filled with various ghosts,__ some that he recognized, others that he didn't, all dressed in some sort of formal wear. He made his way to the end of the aisle, where, already waiting, was Johnny's girlfriend Kitty, dressed in a beautiful floor length baby blue dress._

_She gave them a glare once she saw they arrived. "Took you two long enough," She wisped, low enough so that only they could hear. _

_Johnny smirked. "Come on, babe, you know us – always fashionably late."_

_The girl opened her mouth to respond, but shut it as soft music began to play._

_All eyes turned toward the other end of the aisle as a woman dressed in a beautiful white wedding gown began walking down the aisle._

_He couldn't believe his eyes; his heart beat faster in his chest as he saw her ravishing beauty. Words couldn't describe just how amazing, gorgeous, perfect, and – of course – beautiful she looked. Her dress was floor length, strapless, lacking a train, with elbow-length gloves of matching white.__ Her veil was down, obscuring her face, and she was carrying a bouquet of black roses. __For as long as he'd known her, he couldn't ever remember seeing her hair set lose from its ponytail before. The way her soft flaming locks bounced on her shoulders with each step she took was unbelievably sexy._

_From his side, Johnny let out a soft whistle. "Whoa, she's so…stunning." _

_The boy couldn't speak, he was just so captivated by her beauty. The woman had always been beautiful in a dark, sexy, almost evil way, but never as an innocent bride in white._

_She was about twenty feet from him when their eyes meet. He couldn't help but smile at her, and he could see her do the same from beneath her veil. His heart was beating so fast that, by the time she reached the altar, he was afraid it would leap out of his chest._

_The woman pulled up the veil to reveal blue skin and bright green eyes. "Ready babypop."_

_He smirked. "Lady, I was born ready."_

_Amidst the mumbling of all the spectators, he took her hand and the music began to fade out slowly before stopping completely, a silence falling over the assembled. _

_As he turned his attention to the ghost in front of him, he was surprised to find none other than Clockwork, the Ghost of Time standing before him. The ancient ghost opened his mouth to speak. _

'RING-RING-RING'

Danny woke up with a start as the final bell rang, alerting him that school was over. He was a bit concerned about the dream he had. He was only 15 years old. Guys his age were supposed to be dreaming of cars and sports, not walking down the aisle. _'Ok, I've definitely been spending too much time with Ember lately.'_ He decided that the next time he saw the female ghost, he would talk to her about how much time they were spending together.

Yawning, he grabbed his bag and exited the class. He headed for the school exit, where he met up with Tucker and Sam, as they began walking.

"You okay, Danny? You look a little pale," said Sam.

"Ya, you don't look so good," commented Tucker.

Danny rubbed his eyes, and yawned. "Ya I'm fine. I was just up late last night."

"Wow, Lancer really did give you a lot of homework work last night, didn't he?" said Tucker.

Danny blinked. He had completely forgotten the excuse he had given his friends yesterday. "Uh…sure, let's go with that," he said.

Danny yawned. "Listen guys, I'm kinda tired. I think I'm just gonna head home and crash."

The two nodded. It was obvious their friend was exhausted, and in no condition to do much of anything. Tucker elbowed Sam, who glared at him slightly. "What?"

Tucker leaned in, and whispered. "Now's your chance. Talk to him."

Sam nodded. "Hey Danny, how about I walk you home? Don't want you falling asleep on your feet and walking into a lamppost," she offered.

Tucker slapped his forehead at the lame excuse, but Danny didn't seem to take notice.

As they walked, the two discussed various topics. Or rather, Sam talked, and Danny nodded when he felt he should. He was too busy rubbing his eyes in an attempt to stay awake, trying vainly to fully pay attention to what Sam was saying.

Suddenly, Sam became silent, and she began rubbing her arm nervously. She gulped down the lump in her throat, and there were butterflies in her stomach. Her hands were shaking slightly as she prepared to confess her hidden feeling to her long-time crush. "So, anyway, Danny, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. Actually, I've been wanting to talk to you about it for a long time."

Danny blinked, vaguely aware that Sam was attempting to get this attention. "I'm sorry, Sam. What were you saying?"

Sam bit her lip, debating whether or not she should continue. She sighed, and shook her head. "It's nothing. I'll tell you tomorrow."

Danny gave her a curious look, wondering what Sam had been about to say. He decided that whatever it was obviously wasn't important. If it was really important, Sam would have told him.

Eventually they reached Danny's house, and Sam waved good bye. As she walked away, she cursed herself. She had made a promise both to herself and to Tucker that she would tell Danny how she felt. Instead, she had once again, chickened out. She had good reason for not confessing her feeling though. Judging by how tired Danny looked, it was obvious that he was in no condition to talk. He could barely keep his eyes open, let alone discuss feelings of love that he may, or may not, have for her. Even if she had confessed her feelings to him, she wondered if he would even know what she saying. Unfortunately, the fact that she had a viable excuse for not telling him did little to make her feel better. She felt like if she didn't tell him soon, she would explode.

Once inside, Danny headed straight for his room. _'I'm so tired. I feel like I could sleep for a week._' He was almost to his room when he was stopped by his sister.

"Danny, we need to talk," she said.

Danny groaned. He wasn't in the mood to hear one of his sister's lectures, or worse, one half-baked theories about some ghost. "Can it wait, Jazz? I'm really tired. I just wanna go to bed."

"Why, so you can sneak out again?" said Jazz in an accusing voice.

Danny froze in tracks. Was it really possible that his sister knew what he had been doing? If so, how much did she know, and for how long? He turned to his sister, and raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" he asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

Jazz frowned. "Danny, I'm not stupid. I know you've been lying, and I know you've been sneaking out at night."

Danny's eyes went wide in fear, and his heart started pounding_. 'Ok, ok, be cool, be cool. She said she knows you're been sneaking out. She didn't say she knows what you've been doing when you go out.' _Calming himself, he did his best to act nonchalant."Look, Jazz, it's no big deal, I've just been doing some late-night ghost hunting. Ghosts don't exactly keep a schedule you know."

Jazz folded her arms across her chest. Her brother's story was good…very good. Normally, she might have actually fallen for it, but her brother's behavior lately told her that something else was going on. "Oh, if that's so, then why did you leave the Fenton Thermos here when went on your 'patrol'?"

Danny mentally cursed himself. He sometimes forgot his sister was smarter then he gave her credit for, and not nearly as gullible as their parents. "Well…I…"

Jazz frowned. Her brother was hiding something, had been hiding something for a while now, and she was determined to know what it was. "Stop stalling Danny. You tell me right this minute – what have you been doing at night?"

Danny glared at his sister. "Hey, you can't talk to me like that. Who do you think you are…Mom?"

Jazz was bit shocked by her younger brother's outburst. Danny had never acted like this before. "Well someone has to. You're acting like a punk."

"Look, Jazz, what I do at night is none of your business! It's my life, and I can live it however I want!" He snapped back before storming into his room, and he slammed the door roughly in her face.

Jazz stood outside Danny's door. She was fuming. She felt like breaking down the door and screaming at her brother for acting so rude and immature, but she decided against it. Storming into his room and yelling at him wouldn't solve anything. She would wait for Danny to calm down before she tried talking to him again. Unfortunately, that didn't help calm the anger she was feeling right now. "Agh! If only I had something I could take this out on!"

Suddenly her ears were filled with the sound of an annoying wail coming from outside. "Beware! I am the Box Ghost!"

Jazz smirked as she grabbed the Fenton Bazooka from the hall closet. "Hello, misplaced aggression."

**Another chapter down. Sadly not a lot happening in this one. I guess this qualifies as a filler chapter more than anything. **

**The begining with Clockwork and the Observants was actually meant to be a prologue, but I didn't think of it till now. Still, I think it fits in pretty well. **

**The ending with Jazz was added at the last minute, but I think it turned out well. **

**As always please Read and Review. And if you have any questions or coments let me know.  
**


	4. Its Wrong But It Feels So Right

**Ok yes I know it took me forever to get this chapter up, and for that I am deeply sorry. My life has been very chaotic lately and I haven't been able to find any time to sit down and write. **

**Plus I was almost done with this chapter when I was hit by a wave of inspiration involving events in this story. I ended up scrapping this chapter and re-writing it. The Bad news is it took me a looooooong time to get this chapter done. The good news, more chapters then I originally had planned. Thankfully I now have the entire story mapped out from beginning to end…mostly.**

**As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, Invader Johnny Yuul, The PhantomHokage, acosta perez jose Ramiro, lilusagi12, Inky Marshmallow, star struck fan, MochaYaoi, blackdeathmessenger, RozaHathoway. Also thank you to everyone who favorited this story and or added it to their story alert. **

**I'm glad everyone liked Jazz beating up the Box Ghost. It was just a something that popped into my head and I had to put in. **

**Love the story: Ya I know I take way too long between chapters. I'm a bit of a perfectionist with my writing, and I tend to procrastinate. I'm working on it though. Yes the story will have an ending but I'm not saying what it is.**

**As always thanks to my Beta Reader ****DigitalPhantom**** for helping to make this chapter and the story as a whole that much better.**

**Chapter 4: It's Wrong But It Feels So Good.**

Danny yawned and stretched as he made his way downstairs. Last night was the first in a long time in which he had actually managed to get a full night's sleep. Even more awkward was the fact that he was up early enough to sit down to breakfast with his family. As he walked downstairs, he could hear the bacon sizzling, smelling the delicious scent of fresh pancakes and eggs Benedict.

He the kitchen to find his father and sister already sitting down waiting to eat. The TV on the counter was turned to the news, but no one was really paying any attention to it. He sat down just as his mother finished frying up the bacon, and she served him a plate, which he gladly accepted with a warm smile and a thank you.

Unfortunately, the delicious meal was also served with an air of tenseness to it. Jazz was sitting next to him, glancing at him from time to time. It was obvious that she was still upset about his actions the day before, and Danny hadn't cooled off much either

"In other news it appears that the ghost boy, Danny Phantom, has once again gone rouge."

Danny choked on his food, swallowing hard. "What?"

Danny looked over at the TV as the reporter continued, watching as the screen changed to footage of security camera footage from a local jewelry store, and he couldn't believe his eyes. He watched as the footage showed him, in his ghost form, phasing into a jewelry store and robbing the store of what must have been thousands in jewels.

As the footage played, Danny carefully stared at the figure. It looked exactly like him – the same body, the same clothes…even the way he moved when he flew was the same. If Danny didn't know any better, he would have thought that it really was him.

Even Jazz seemed puzzled. She looked over at Danny, as though questioning whether or not to believe the footage.

They were interrupted by the sound of their father's, "Ya see, I told you that ghost kid was no good."

His parents began discussing Phantom's newest criminal activities, along with the various ways to capture and destroy him, and Danny clenched his hands in rage. He couldn't stand to hear his parents talk about him like this, regardless of the fact that they didn't know he _was_ Danny Phantom. He clenched his teeth tightly against the growing rage before grumbling, "Would you excuse me? I have to get to school."

He stood up, cleaned his plate in the sink, grabbed his backpack and left the house without another word.

Danny walked to school that morning with a scowl on his face. '_I can't believe this. I can't believe that there is someone out there framing me…again.'_ Danny was so lost in his thoughts he almost failed to notice Tucker and Sam as they came running up to him with worried looks on their faces, falling into step next to him.

"Danny, we heard what happened," said Sam, obviously referring to the imposter.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" questioned Tucker.

Despite his current situation, Danny couldn't help but smile. It was nice to know that, no matter what, he could always count on his friends to have his back. "Thanks, guys, but there isn't much that we _can_ do right now."

"Any idea who's behind it?" asked Sam.

Danny shook his head. "No. I only heard about it this morning, so I don't know much."

"What about that one ghost that could turn into people…Anamorph?" questioned Tucker.

"Amorpho," corrected Danny. "And I don't think so. He was more of a prankster than a thief. He did stuff for fun and attention, not for profit."

"Well, maybe now robbing people is fun for him," said Sam. "He sure is getting attention for it."

Danny considered Sam's words. When he first heard about the imposter, he had definitely mulled over the possibility that the shape-shifting ghost was behind it, but he hadn't seen Amorpho in months, and when the ghost left, it seemed to have been on good terms. Still, while he doubted that Amorpho was behind the robberies, he wasn't quite ready to write the ghost off completely.

Either way, it didn't matter. The list of possible suspects was over a mile long, and he had no clues to go on. For now, he would just have to wait.

He hated waiting.

-----

During class, Danny was still deep in thought about the new mystery enemy that was impersonating him. Who was it? Was it a new foe, or an old enemy trying something new? And what, exactly, were they trying to do? Were they simply trying to frame him, like Walker once had, or was it part of something bigger?

It wasn't until lunch rolled around that he was finally snapped out of his thoughts by the surprise of Sam sitting down next to him, rather than across from him like usual.

Danny cast a sidelong glance at the raven-headed girl, who was making sure to get as close to him as physically possible. "Uh…Sam," he hedged, "not that I don't like sitting with you, but isn't this a _little_ close? I mean, what if someone saw us and got the wrong impression?" _'Like Ember_,_' _he added mentally, knowing that his girlfriend would not like the idea of him looking especially close to his best friend.

"I thought you didn't care what people thought," teased Sam, taking a bite of her salad. After her miserable attempt to confess her feelings to Danny the day prior, she decided that, if she wanted to get Danny to notice her, she would have to be a little more forward. "Besides, since when has it been a crime to sit with your best friend?"

"It's not," he admitted, "but somehow, I doubt that us holding hands falls into the 'best friends' category." He lifted his right arm to emphasize the point, as his hand was still clasped in hers.

"Oh," Sam said, blushing and releasing his hand. _'Smooth, Sam, real smooth,'_ she thought. Still, she couldn't deny that it felt really nice to sit there, holding Danny's hand. In fact, it had seemed completely natural.

A nearby belch turned her thoughts away from Danny, and she looked to see Tucker's plate completely cleaned of all the meat products that had been on it moments before. It was no real shock that Tucker had finished already. He had yet to find a meat product that he couldn't devour in less than three minutes. Well, there was that time the Scottish club served haggis during International Food Day, but as far as she was concerned, boiled sheep lungs served in its own stomach did not constitute as food. "Honestly, Tucker, haven't you ever considered eating something a little healthier than those fatty burgers?"

"You mean like one of your turfwiches?" said Tucker, pointing to a trashcan that was filled to the brim with turfwiches.

Sam frowned. After the whole ordeal with the Lunch Lady, the school had opted for a combo lunch that consisted of a hamburger and a turfwich, yet, despite her victory for the serving of healthy foods, ever day was the same thing; the students would gobble down whatever meat product was served, and the trashcans would overflow with turfwiches. "Sometimes, I wish someone would force them to eat healthy food," she muttered.

Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense went off. He looked around but could see no sign of paranormal activity, and failed to notice as a discarded turfwich in a nearby trashcan started to glow. It floated upwards a few inches before sailing across the room, hitting Dash in the back of the head.

Dash growled and turned, looking around to see who had hit him. He saw the turfwich lying at his feet and his eyes immediately shifted to settle on Sam.

He marched over to where Danny, Sam, and Tucker were sitting. "Hey, Manson! What's the big idea, chucking this garbage at me?"

Sam turned, purple eyes flashing angrily. "First off, it's not garbage, it's organically-grown food. Secondly, I didn't throw it!"

"Ya right, who else but you would eat this garbage?" retorted Dash.

Danny could see the muscles knotting in Sam's arms and shoulders and had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen if he didn't do something and quick. _'Not that I wouldn't like to see Dash get his ass kicked,_' he thought. But this is not exactly the time or the place for it. "Back off, Dash," he said defensively, stopping Sam before she could decide to get into it with the jock." More loudly he added, "She didn't do anything."

Dash shot him a withering glare, "Buzz off, Fenton," he said, pushing Danny aside forcefully.

Danny stumbled back a bit before corecting his balance, and glared at the blonde jock. "Not this time, bone head."

Dash was about to continue belittling Sam and her belief's when he realized what Danny said. "What did you say?"

Danny smirked, his stance taking on a more casual look as his voice became colder. "I think it had something to do with your thick skull."

As the words registered in the silence of the room, Dash was surprised by the remark, but his slightly shocked look quickly turned into a smirk. He was amused that Danny actually had the guts to stand up to him and grinned from cheek to cheek. "Well, well, look who developed a backbone all of a sudden."

"I've developed a lot more than just a backbone," said Danny, getting right in the jocks' face. There was a hardness in his voice, just under the surface of his words that made the more perceptive people in the room back away slowly. A hush fell over the room as everyone waited, looking from Danny to Dash and back nervously. Even Sam and Tucker were put off, taking a step back as they glanced at their friend in concern.

"Oh ya, if you're so tough, let's see you prove it," Dash said confidently, shoving Danny a little. "Come on, Fenton, make a move."

Danny didn't move or speak. He could feel the anger boiling inside him as he tried not to let it overwhelm him.

Dash, however, took Danny's lack of response as a sign of fear and weakness and his grin widened, if that was even possible. "I knew it. You may talk big, but you're still just a wimpy little geek." He began to laugh, and soon, the entire lunch room joined him – minus, of course, Sam and Tucker.

Danny glared at the jock with anger burning in his eyes. He clenched his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles began to turn white. The familiar laughter of his peers filled his ears and echoed in his head. At that very instant, he felt something inside of him snap.

Almost faster than anyone could follow, Danny drove a fist into Dash's gut, knocking the wind out of him, causing him to double over in pain and surprise. Before Dash could retaliate, Danny followed up with a kick to the jaw, and a cold smirk crossed his face, knowing from experience that there are a lot of nerve endings in the jaw. There were even more in the nose, which Danny shattered with his knee, releasing a stream of blood and causing the jock to fall over, looking up at Danny with a mixture of shock and pain.

Danny looked down at the jock. "You know, I don't really care if you're afraid of me or not, but I've had enough of your crap. You can rag on me all you want, but leave my friends alone. Got it?" He received a weak nod from Dash's prone form.

It was at that moment that Lancer walked into the room. His eyes widened as he took in the sight before him. "Brave New World! What happened here?" He looked at the teen standing over Dash for only a moment. "Mr. Fenton, my office. _Now_."

Danny sighed, knowing what was coming next. Without so much as a word, he walked out. Lancer waited until Danny had left the room before he turned to Dash who was just beginning to struggle to his feet. "Mr. Baxter," he ordered, startling the young man, "get yourself to the nurse's office to get checked out. I'll deal with Mr. Fenton."

-----

Danny leaned back against the chair in Lancer's office, staring at the ceiling. _'What's wrong with me?'_ he mentally asked himself. _'I mean, I'm not the violent type, not usually anyway. Still, I can't say that I didn't enjoy beating Dash, even though I know I shouldn't have. What's worse is how far I took it. I could have taken him down easy with a hold or a grapple, but instead, I smashed his face in.'_ Danny sighed. His parents were going to kill him for this.

Lancer walked in and went around his desk to sit in his chair. Across from him, Danny was sitting in the chair in front of the desk, his head in his hands. To the casual observer, it looked like the young man was doing a pretty good job of beating himself up over his actions in the lunch room. "If you're planning on the 'I've already punished myself more than you could' defense, it's not going to fly, Daniel," he said. "But you get points for having the guts to give it a shot."

Danny looked up and gave Mr. Lancer a weak smile. "Actually, no, but I'll keep that in mind for future reference."

Lancer frowned. "Then perhaps you would care to explain exactly why you thought it necessary to attack a fellow student," said Lancer.

"I didn't attack him," defended Danny. "Dash started the fight. He had just as much to do with that fight as I did."

Lancer raised an eyebrow. "Really? Before I came in, I talked to some of the other students who witnessed the events in the cafeteria, and several of them said it was you who threw the first punch."

"Ya, after Dash started saying a whole bunch of crap about Sam," defended Danny, his voice rising slightly.

Lancer seemed to take no notice of Danny's slight temper, nor did he seem concerned about the reasons behind the scuffle. "Even so, this school has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to violence. I cannot just let you get away with taking out your personal grievances during school hours, regardless of the reason. Still, since this is your first offense, I'm willing to be lenient and merely give you three months of detention."

"What?! Three months!" shouted Danny. "That's not fair! Dash was the one who started it. If anyone deserves to be punished, it's him."

"Not according to my sources," stated Lancer.

"Well, they're wrong!" defended Danny.

This time, Lancer did begin to lose his temper. "One more outburst, Mr. Fenton, and I'll extend the punishment. Unless, of course, you _want_ to be in detention for the remainder of the school year?"

Danny glared defiantly at the man, but backed down. "No, sir."

Lancer calmed down. "Good."

"Can I go now?" asked Danny.

"Yes, you may go," Lancer replied. "The school day is almost over, so your detention will begin tomorrow."

Danny nodded and rose from the chair.

"Oh, and Mr. Fenton?" Mr. Lancer said, halting Danny's departure, "you might want to consider something to help with that anger management problem you've seem to have acquired recently. I personally find yoga to be helpful."

'_Yoga? Somehow, I just can't see Lancer doing a full lotus,'_ Danny thought. _'Okay, now I can and it's really disturbing.'_ He shuddered and walked out of Mr. Lancer's office, trying to get the horrible mental image out of his head.

-----

That evening, Danny sat at the kitchen table, his parents continuing the punishment that Mr. Lancer's call had begun earlier.

Maddie shook her head as she looked at her son. She had already been informed of the incident that had taken place at the school, as well as the punishment that had been meted out. She simply couldn't understand why her normally peaceful son would do something so violent to another student. "I just don't understand it. Why would you do something like that?"

"Mom, it's not my fault, I swear," defended Danny. "Dash was the one who started it. I was just defending myself."

Maddie shook her head. "I just don't understand it. What has gotten into you lately?"

Danny rubbed his neck in nervousness. How was he supposed to explain all the changes that had taken effect over the last few months? All the battles he'd been in, all the ghosts he'd fought, all the changes he'd been through…not to mention his new girlfriend, which even he was still trying to figure out. "I don't know. I guess I have different priorities now."

"Different priorities?" said his mother. "You're in high school. Your only priorities right now should be going to school and getting good grades."

"Hey, school isn't exactly the party you think it is," said Danny, his voice rising slightly.

"Well, you're not supposed to be having a party," said his mother. "You're supposed to be learning."

Finally, his father spoke up. "Now, Danny, this is serious. You assaulted another student. This is not the way we raised you. This is not how we taught you to behave."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" retorted Danny. He had finally had enough. "Just sit back and let Dash beat me up? Because I can tell you he has. He's beaten me up more times that I can count, and I have the _scars_ to prove it. And every time he does so, he gets off scot-free. I am sick and tired of being picked on all the time! For once in my life, I actually defended myself, and what do I get? I get a freaking lecture!"

Both parents were shocked by the sudden outburst.

"Danny?" said his mother worriedly.

His father looked at him sternly. "Danny, this is not what your mother and I taught you."

"Ya, I know what you taught me!" yelled Danny. "You taught me to be a freak like you two!"

"That's it!" screamed his father, his face beginning to turn red in anger. "I think you need to go to your room for the night and think about things!"

"What?!" Danny yelled back in outrage. "You can't send me to my room! I'm fifteen years old!"

"Now!" said his father sternly.

Danny pushed his chair out harshly, the legs grating against the floor, before stomping up the stairs.

Maddie heard her son's door slam and sighed. "That was horrible."

Jack hugged his wife, comforting her. "It's okay. He's a kid. He had a traumatic day, and he came home to us lashing out at him."

Maddie cast her eyes towards the stairway. "I should go up there." The fact that Danny had been bullied repeatedly also concerned her, but that was a conversation for another time.

Jack shook his head. "No. Let him be for now."

-----

Danny lay on his bed, hardcore metal music blaring from his stereo as he bobbed his head in time with the beat. Even with the loud music, he heard a knock on his door.

"Go away," he said.

Instead, the door opened, and his sister walked in.

Danny frowned as he sat up. "I thought I said go away."

Jazz frowned. "Not this time."

"What do you want?" he asked, exasperated.

Jazz folded her arms. "I want to know what the hell is going on with you lately. I want to know why you thought it was right to beat up your classmate, and I really want to know why you decided to yell at Mom and Dad loud enough for the whole block to hear."

Danny sighed. "Look, I didn't mean for things to get so out of control down there. It's just…first, Dash gets in my face, then Mr. Lancer, then my own parents. I was just so fed up with everything."

Jazz didn't comment on the fact that Danny had skipped over the whole Dash incident. "Look, I understand that things can be frustrating, what with the whole 'secret identity' thing, and that Mom and Dad aren't exactly a big help. I know it's tough dealing with both school and ghosts, but you can't act like that. You're fifteen years old."

Danny lowered his head, but didn't say anything.

Jazz stared at her brother, looking at him like he was someone else entirely. Lately, it seemed like she hardly knew him. "What's going on with you lately? You've never acted like this before, and you've certainly never yelled at Mom and Dad before. You're acting different, and to be honest, it's scaring me."

In a low voice, Danny answered. "I don't know."

Jazz sighed. "Listen, I know I don't say this very often, but you're a good person." Jazz saw the doubt in her brothers' eyes, and continued. "I mean it, Danny. You're kind, loyal, and braver than anyone I've ever known. You're also pretty smart when you want to be, but the way you've been acting lately, it's just plain stupid."

Danny didn't say anything, and Jazz wondered if he had even listened to her. She shook her head. _'Come on, Danny, you're better than this. Snap out of it.'_ Without saying another word, she walked out of the room, leaving her brother to his thoughts.

Danny sighed as he sat back on his bed, his mind replaying the day's events as his mind mulled over what Jazz had said. He got up and walked over to his mirror, and in it, he saw a boy wearing a black shirt, black pants, and black boots. It was a far cry from the boy he was so used to seeing only a few months before. "I'm not _that_ different, am I?"

**Ya, I know this chapter was kinda short, but I felt this would be a good place to end it. The next chapter will be longer and will feature the first, but not the last, full fight scene in the story. Don't worry though it won't take as long to complete.**

**Please Read and Review.****If you have any questions or comments let me know.**


	5. What I've Done

**Thanks for the reviews, Yuul, Neko Ninja Hezza, RozaHathoway, toolazytologin, The PhantomHokage, Hivedragon. Also thank you to everyone who favorited this story and or added it to their story alert.**

**Invader Johnny: Same here. That's exactly what I was going for.**

**Blackdeathmessenger: Thank you very much for the offer but the problem has been solved for now. Though I'll let you know if something else goes wrong and I need a one. **

**Always an Angel: Whatever influence Ember is having on Danny isn't intentional. It's like with any couple, when you start spending a lot of time with someone you start acting more like them.**

**Sorry it took longer than I thought to get this up. My beta reader has been busy so it took her a while to get it back to me. As always thanks to her, DigitalPhantom, for the help.**

**Chapter 5: What I've Done**

**-----**

_The sky was filled with the thick smoke of burning fires, and the air choked by the stench of the dead and the decaying. The buildings that once made up a vibrant city now stood in ruins, and those that hadn't been reduced to rubble were nothing more than a hollow shell of their former selves, missing most or all of their window panes, large holes knocked out of the walls._

_The streets were torn and cracked, littered with bodies, scorch marks, and still-burning rubble. The few cars sitting on the road were either damaged beyond repair or in pieces. Various objects once kept indoors were now scattered on the ground, as shattered as the cars around them. Metal poles that had directed the flow of traffic were either cut off at half-mast or broken on the ground, completely uprooted from the cement that once held them in place._

_The silence was broken by the sound of laser blasts, and a black and white blur zoomed through the air followed by a red blur._

_The black blur waved and dodged around destroyed buildings, narrowly avoiding the heavy laser fire coming from his pursuer._

_He dove down towards the street and disappeared into the ground, re-emerging a few feet away behind a large pile of rubbish. Pressing his back tightly against the wall, he tried to catch his breath._

_His dead heart was pounding in his chest, and his face was coated in sweat. He'd long since lost track of how long he'd been running, but he knew he couldn't keep up much longer. He was exhausted, his energy was all but completely drained, and his strength was beginning to fade._

_He needed to get out of here…to find someplace to hide so he could even hope to recover his strength. Before he could even struggle back to his feet, the rubble he'd been hiding behind exploded, sending him flying a few feet away._

_He shook his head, groaning in pain, and looked over at the burning rubble he'd been hiding behind to find a familiar figure emerge from the flames. She was dressed in her red suit, mounted atop her hoverboard, a large and deadly blaster gripped in her hands. Even though he couldn't see her face behind the black mask, he could practically feel the rage emanating from her very being. "I've got you, ghost, and now, you're going to pay for what you've done."_

"_Listen, Valerie, I know you're mad, but…"_

"_Shut up!" she shouted. Her voice was filled with more rage than he had even heard from her before. "This is your fault! This is _all_ your fault! Everything that's happened is because of you!" The top of the blaster opened, a whir of gears revealing a rack of four missiles from the opening only seconds before they all fired._

_He dodged the projectiles, barely managing to avoid being blown out of the sky. Valerie didn't let up. In an instant, she was back on him, firing with reckless abandonment, forcing him to go on the defensive as he used all of his waning speed and agility to dodge the newest onslaught. He tried, again, to plead to the out-of-control girl's sense of mercy. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I couldn't control myself. I…"_

_Once more, his words fell on deaf ears as Valerie's blast caught him in the chest and sent him reeling into a nearby wall that cracked upon impact. Danny fell to the ground, catching a face full of shattered asphalt. Rolling over, he found a hole in the front of his suit, the skin that had once been under his emblem now singed._

_On shaking limbs he managed to rise to his hands and knees. His chest felt as if it was being squeezed in a vise, and it was painful just to breathe. He could taste the burning sting of vomit rising in the back of his throat, and he coughed violently, green blood splattering on the ground._

_Before Danny could even regain his senses, Valerie fired an ecto-containment net at him, trapping him within. A shadow swept over him and he looked at Valerie standing over him, her red-hot blaster held in her hands and pointed straight at his head. "Now, I'm going to end this, once and for all. Goodbye forever, Danny Phantom."_

- - - - -

Danny woke in fright, and before his eyes had completely focused, the blanket was tossed to the floor, his hands searching his body for injury. Thankfully, he found none, and sat in the bed, waiting for his breathing to steady and his heart rate to return to normal, but the thought was locked in his mind that the dream had seemed all too real. The sights, the sounds, the smells…everything.

After shaking off the remnants of the violent dream, Danny went about his morning routine. He slowly walked down the stairs, a melancholy look on his face. As he entered the kitchen, he found his family sitting at the table. Guilt and shame overcame him as the memory of the events of the night prior flooded his mind. "Umm…morning."

His family looked up at him, but no words were spoken. To Danny, it felt as if the temperature of the room had suddenly dropped, and for once, it had nothing to do with his ghost powers. He felt the guilt gnaw at his stomach as he remembered his harsh words and the shocked look on his parents' faces. He wished so much that he could take back what had been said, but what was done was done, and all he could do was try and make amends.

He rubbed his arm in unease, trying to find the right words to express his deep regret. "Listen, I…I wanted you to know that I feel terrible about what I said last night. I was _way_ out of line. I was mad and I said some things that I didn't mean. I don't think you two are freaks, and to be honest, I think you're great parents. Anyway, for what it's worth, I'm really, really sorry about what I said and what I did. It was stupid and I should have known better. So…ya…" Danny drifted off, unsure of what else could be said.

For a second, they remained silent, and he began to worry that his words and actions had been too horrible for them to ever forgive.

Then, his father smiled, and in an instant, the tension that had been suffocating them all vanished as if it had never been there to begin with. "Apology accepted, son," Jack said. "Come here," he continued, rising from his seat and embracing Danny in a bear hug that almost crushed him.

Jazz smiled with pride as she watched her father try to hug the life out of her younger brother. '_I guess something I said did manage to get through that thick skull of his._'

"But don't think that this means you're off the hook," said his mother. "You're still grounded for the rest of your life." She was exaggerating, of course, but make no mistake, she fully intended for Danny to be punished for his violent actions. She also made a mental note to start taking a more active role in her son's school life.

Danny smiled sheepishly. "Ya, I kinda figured as much." While he still believed he was right in standing up to Dash, he knew that he had crossed a very fine line by fighting him. He decided it was best to simply bite the bullet and accept whatever punishment he had coming.

"Come on, Danny, I'll give you a ride to school," said Jazz.

Danny smiled and nodded, heading back upstairs to grab his backpack while Jazz grabbed her keys and got the car started.

- - - - -

Later that day, Danny was walking the school halls with Sam and Tucker. Since he had left school early the other day, and had spent most of the rest of said day locked in his room, he hadn't had a chance to talk with them. He explained what had happened in Lancer's office, as well as what had gone on once he'd gotten home. "So, basically, I've got detention for the next three months and I'm grounded for the rest of my life."

Tucker winced in sympathy. "Ouch. I feel for you, dude."

"I can't say I'm surprised, though," said Sam. "You did hurt Dash pretty badly." Although Sam felt bad for her friend's current situation, she knew he had no one to blame but himself.

Danny was shocked at what she'd said. He knew that Lancer, his parents and even Jazz wouldn't cut him any slack, but he had thought that his friends, at least, would stand by him. Instead, he was getting the third degree. "How can you say that? You saw what happened. I was defending myself."

"No, you were provoking him. You practically _asked_ for that fight." Up until now, Sam hadn't said anything negative about Danny's new attitude. She was all for people expressing themselves, and to be honest, she had found his new look to be somewhat sexy. However, after Danny's violent display yesterday, she realized that this new Danny was more than just assertive – he was violent, and slightly frightening.

Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing, and the fact that it was Sam only made it worse. If anyone had a temper problem, it was her. He had long ago lost count of the number of times he had to physically restrain her from trying to beat someone who had insulted either her, her image, or anything having to do with her pro-environmental beliefs. "So what if I did. You heard what he said about you. He totally deserved it."

Despite her anger, Sam couldn't help but be a little flattered. It was kind of an old-school romantic move, him defending her like that. She was touched that Danny cared so much about her. "Look, I agree that Dash needed to be put in his place, but beating him to a pulp is not the answer."

"Then what else am I supposed to do?" he countered, making sure to keep his anger in check as he spoke, feeling it start to rise just beneath the surface. He had already had this argument with his parents and didn't want to repeat the mistake he had made last night. "It's not like Lancer or the principal are going to do anything about it."

"Look at it this way, Danny," said Tucker. "If Dash had kept ragging on you, it would have eventually gotten to you, and it might have messed with your ghost hunting, which could have endangered the entire world."

Danny blinked, realizing the truth of Tucker's words. "Wow, I hadn't thought about it like that. I just really wanted to wipe that smug grin off of his face."

"Ya, well, don't look now, but there's Mr. Smug," Sam cut in.

Danny looked over, finding Dash surrounded by a flock of girls and fellow football players. As Dash talked, the group gave him their undivided attention, all of them hanging on his every word. Amazingly, despite Danny's brutal onslaught the day prior, Dash didn't look that hurt. Months of fighting ghosts had made Danny pretty well-versed in various types of injuries. Dash's nose and cheeks were severely swollen and slightly red, and there were some bruises and scratch marks where Danny's knuckles had made contact, but beyond that, he looked fine. The lack of notable injury was most likely due to Dash's experience as a football player. Danny guessed that while Dash was probably in some pain, it was nowhere near as bad as it looked.

Sam and Tucker moved to avoid the group, but Danny walked right up to them. Tucker and Sam both followed, worry etched on their faces about what actions their friend might take.

Dash saw Danny approaching him and glared. "What do you want, Fenton?" he said in an angry, yet somewhat high-pitched voice. Danny and Tucker both bit their lips, trying not to laugh at Dash's now cartoonish voice.

Even though Dash said his name in spite, Danny couldn't help but notice that he used his correct last name in place of some demeaning variant of it, as was the norm.

"I just wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday," said Danny. "I let my anger get the best of me, and I did some things I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

Dash didn't say anything. He just stuck up his nose and turned away.

Danny wasn't offended by the gesture or angered by it. He, in no way, had expected Dash to forgive him for his actions or accept his apology. In fact, he suspected that once things returned to normal, or as normal as could be expected, Dash would probably wail on him twice as hard as before.

Still, the look in Dash's eyes told him that, from now on, the jock might be more hesitant to bully him and his friends, or at least think twice about it. He wondered if, perhaps, Dash was now slightly afraid of him after what happened. For some reason, Danny actually enjoyed the thought that Dash might fear him. It was a chilling realization that scared him far more then the blonde jock ever could.

- - - - -

Once the final bell rang, all the students exited the building to return to their home. One such student was Valerie Gray, who headed home to the small apartment she shared with her father. No sooner had she entered her room and dropped her backpack on the bed than none other than Danny Phantom flew into her room through the open window. "Hello, Valerie," he greeted coldly.

Valerie was stunned to see her arch-enemy in her room. Though Phantom knew who she really was, he had never actually dared visit her at home. Then again, it seemed Phantom had been doing a lot of things differently lately. "You? What do you want?" she asked, glaring at the ghost as her muscles tensed reflexively. She felt the hairs on her neck start to stand up, her body involuntarily readying itself for any attack the ghost might attempt.

Normally, Phantom spent his time battling other ghosts, pretending that he was some kind of hero trying to protect the people of Amity Park. She, of course, saw him for what he truly was – a reckless, loose-cannon ghost who destroyed everything he touched and ruined the lives of good people like her and her father. Now, it appeared that he had grown tired of playing the hero and decided to finally show his true colors. She also noticed that there was something odd about the ghost's physical appearance. She didn't know exactly what it was, but he seemed different somehow…darker.

Danny smiled evilly. "Oh, nothing much. Just dropping by to do this." He charged up an ecto beam and fired it at Valerie, who jumped nimbly out of the way, the beam destroying the small nightstand behind her. He continued to fire off beams of energy, systematically destroying everything in her room. After a few seconds of continuous fire, he finally stopped.

He smiled, a sinister snarl of his lips, as he surveyed the damage he had done. "I think that's enough for now. Catch you later."

Valerie looked around at the charred wreckage that was once her room. Her mirror was shattered, her computer destroyed. Her desk, dresser and bed were nothing but hunks of broken wood, burnt fabric, and hot metal coils. Her curtains and bed spread were in tatter, and there were holes in the wall and ceiling. Her blood boiled, and her body filled with a rage before unknown to her.

In an instant, a familiar black and crimson red suit formed around her, the tinted face mask barely hiding any of the anger burning in her eyes. She jumped into the air as her hoverboard emerged from the feet of her suit, and she rocketed out of the window as fast as she could, her eye filled with murderous intent. "Oh, I'll catch you, ghost, and when I do, I'll destroy you once and for all!"

- - - - -

While Valerie set her sights on Danny Phantom, Danny Fenton was busy finishing up the first of what was to be a long series of detentions. The only advantage of this was that it would allow him enough time to catch up on his homework and possibly pull his grades up a bit.

When Danny finally exited the detention room, he was surprised to find Sam and Tucker waiting for him outside. "What are you guys still doing here?"

Sam shrugged. "Just thought we'd wait for you."

Danny smiled. Detention had been both long and boring, and the fact that he was grounded didn't make things any better. The sight of his best friends really helped to lift his spirits. "Thanks, guys. I know I've been a little flakey lately."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "A little? Dude, you've been ditching us every chance you get."

Although Danny never said anything, both Sam and Tucker had a strong hunch that Danny had been keeping something from them. The new clothes, attitude, and general lack of free time were a dead giveaway.

Danny waved his hands. "Okay, okay, I've been really flakey lately. I've been a little preoccupied." The talk with his sister last night made him realize that he had been a bit distant lately, and had been ignoring the people in his life, like his friends for one. He decided it was time to make things up to them. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for the way I've been acting lately."

"With what?" asked Sam. Although it hurt her to think that her best friend was keeping secrets from her, she understood his desire to keep some things to himself and respected his privacy.

Danny stiffened slightly. While he hated lying to his friends he knew he couldn't tell them exactly what he had been doing lately. "Nothing important, just trying to sort some things out," he said. '_Like trying to fit a secret relationship with an ex-villainess into my already cramped schedule._' "Anyway, I'm sorry, and I want to make it up to you. How about once I'm not grounded anymore, we'll all spend the day together."

Though it didn't show in her expression, Sam's heart leapt up at the thought of being able to spend the day with Danny. "Sure, but how long do you think you'll be grounded?"

Danny smiled playfully. "How long until we go to college?"

Sam laughed. That was one of the things she liked about Danny – no matter how angry, sad, or upset she was, he could somehow always get through her shields and make her laugh and feel happy.

She was happy to hear Danny cracking jokes again. After yesterday, she had been extremely worried about him. She had tried calling, but he hadn't answered, and when she'd tried Jazz all she would say was that Danny was reflecting on his new mental outlook. Sam had no idea what that had meant, exactly, but whatever it was, it seemed to have done the trick. Danny seemed calmer today – more laid back and fun-loving. More like the Danny that she was used to. The one she loved.

As they walked to Danny's house, they passed by a newsstand. There, on the front page of the local paper was yet another picture of Danny in Phantom form, robbing a bank. Danny frowned in anger, his hand pulsing slightly with ghostly energy, wanting only to burn the papers to ash.

Sam saw the anger beginning to stir in Danny's eyes and placed a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Danny, I'm sure you'll find whoever is doing this and stop them."

Danny shook his head. "I'm not so sure of that."

"What do you mean?" inquired Tucker.

Danny sighed. "After what happened, with detention and being grounded, I'm pretty much on lockdown, both at home and at school. It's going to be hard for me just to fight regular ghosts when they attack, let alone find time to track down some impostor who's committing robberies. Jazz might be able to help, but I'm not sure how much she can do. Do you think you guys and Jazz could…"

"Investigate and try to find out who's framing you," said Sam, finishing his sentence for him. "Sure. What are friends for?"

Danny smiled. "Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it." Suddenly, Danny's ghost sense went off, and the three teens looked around, but it was Sam who spotted it first, and when she did, her eyes went wide in disbelief. "Danny, look," she said, pointing skyward.

Danny turned his head up towards where Sam was looking, and was surprised to see…himself. There, in the sky, he saw Danny Phantom, flying through the air directly overhead.

"Danny, that has to be the ghost that's been impersonating you," Sam commented softly. When she didn't get a response, she turned to find that Danny was already gone. "Danny?"

Danny had already left and headed down a nearby alleyway, and from there, he glared at the figure as it flew overhead and his blood began to boil. He let loose with his trademark battle cry of "Going ghost!", transformed, and took off after the doppelganger as fast as he could. '_When I get my hands on that ghost, I'm gonna ring his undead neck._'

It took him only a few seconds to get behind the other Phantom and close enough to shout. Normally, it would have been impossible for two people to hear each other while flying, but ghost voices seemed to have a different vibrational pitch than humans, which allowed them to be heard at high speeds. It was also what caused the ghost's voices to echo like they did. "Hey, faker."

The other Phantom looked behind him and saw Danny following close behind.

"Don't you know there's a one-Phantom limit in this town?" quipped Danny.

An evil smirk crossed the false Phantom's face as he increased his speed.

Danny frowned and sped up as well, pushing himself as hard as he could, skimming the edge of his speed limit. Slowly, he began to gain ground on the imposter, and began charging an ice beam, making sure it was strong enough to stop the ghost without causing serious injury. He wanted the ghost conscious and in one piece when he finally got around to painfully interrogating him.

Once he was close enough, he fired the beam, but was surprised when it passed right through the specter, and the ghostly duplicate vanished from existence. Danny came to a screeching halt, hovering in mid-air. "What the…? Where did he…?"

Danny didn't even have time to try and complete his thought as he was suddenly caught in the back by a searing bolt of energy, causing him to fall to the ground far below.

Danny groaned and rubbed his head in pain, turning to look and see who shot him. His eyes met with a very familiar red and black armored figure floating above him on her hoverboard, her freshly-fired energy blocks still smoking. "Aw, great. Just what I _don't _need right now."

"I've got you, ghost, and now, you're going to pay for what you've done."

Danny blinked, realizing that Valerie sounded exactly like she had in his dream. Even the rage filling her voice was the same. '_Talk about déjà vu._' "Look, I don't have time to deal with you right now. I've got real threats to deal with, so why don't you go kick a puppy or something?"

Valerie growled, and a group of ecto-energy blocks materialized around her, and she began firing with reckless abandon, her only concern blasting the ghost before her clear out of the sky. The shots went wide and wild, blowing holes in dozens of buildings and nearly striking a number of innocent civilians on the streets below. Danny rushed down toward the pavement, barely managing to grab a kid and fly away from where large chunks of building debris crashed to the street.

"Hey, watch it, will ya?! You're gonna hurt someone!"

Valerie didn't listen. At that moment, her every thought was focused solely on destroying Danny. Anything and everything else was unimportant, and she again opened fire on him.

Danny's eyes widened as he pushed himself harder than ever, utilizing his speed and agility to dodge Valerie's laser onslaught. '_What is wrong with her?_' he wondered. He had never fully understood her obsession with destroying him, but this was outright ridiculous. '_Whatever it is, I gotta get her away from here before she manages to actually hurt someone._'

Danny flew off as fast as he could, his lower half morphing into a gray tail, as he turned away from the crowded streets of the city and headed towards the warehouses by the pier, an area he knew to have far fewer people in the line of fire.

As Danny chanced a look over his shoulder, he found no sign of his black-and-red-armored assailant, concluding that, by some miracle, he'd managed to lose her, but as he let his guard down, a blast of energy caught him full-force in the chest, Valerie seemingly reappearing out of nowhere. "Oh, no, you don't, ghost boy. You think you can just get away with blasting my stuff and then running off? You'd better think again."

Danny looked at the girl in complete bewilderment. "Blasting your stuff and running…What the heck are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me," shouted Valerie. "You trashed my entire room, then had me chase you all over town."

The realization dawned on Danny's mind then. '_The impostor…he must have attacked Valerie at home, then come here, knowing I'd follow. I've been set up, again._' "Listen, Valerie, I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't me. There's a ghost impersonating me." His words, much like his dream, fell on deaf ears, and all that he got in return for his trouble was a blast he barely avoided. "Listen, Valerie, I know you're mad, but…"

"Shut up!" she shouted. Her voice was filled with more rage than he had even heard from her before. "This is your fault! This is all your fault! Everything that's happened is because of you!" The top of the blaster opened, a whir of gears revealing a rack of four missiles from the opening only seconds before they all fired.

He dodged the projectiles, barely managing to avoid being blown out of the sky. Valerie didn't let up. In an instant, she was back on him, firing with reckless abandonment, forcing him to go on the defensive as he used all of his waning speed and agility to dodge the newest onslaught. '_Well, if it didn't work in the dream, why should I think it would work in real life?_' "Guess I gotta do this the hard way."

"Ya know, it seems to me like you're really hot under the collar. Maybe this will help cool you off." Danny's hands glowed blue for a second before he fired an ice beam that froze Valerie on her hoverboard. The momentary smile that came with his attack was quickly removed as he watched her suit begin to glow red. The ice began to crack slowly before it finally shattered.

"Nice try, ghost, but this suit has a built-in heat source."

Danny frowned in frustration. "Great. Why the heck did Technus have to go and give her such a powerful suit anyhow?" Danny didn't have much time to reflect on that thought as Valerie renewed her attack, quickly on the defensive as he took to the sky, weaving through and dodging the blasts. "If I can't shake her, and I can't stop her, maybe I can at least ground her."

Valerie leveled her blaster, a smile forming on her face as she finally got Danny locked in the gun's crosshairs, but just as she was about to pull the trigger and obliterate him once and for all, he vanished. Confused, she came to a dead stop in mid-air. "Where did he go?"

Suddenly, she became acutely aware of a severe drop in the air temperature, and looked down to find her board being encased in ice. Once it was completely covered, Danny burst through the bottom, shattering the board and sending her tumbling to the ground.

She growled and aimed her wrist at Danny, a metal wire firing out of the suit and catching on Danny's clothes. With the press of a button, a powerful electrical current shot through the metal, shocking Danny with over a thousand volts.

Danny screamed in pain. He could feel his blood begin to boil beneath the burned flesh of his body, his muscles spasming as his body was racked with more pain than it could handle. Finally, the charge died off, and Danny fell to the ground face-first, his entire body emitting small wisps of smoke.

He groaned and shook his head, managing to push himself up onto his hands and knees. Before he could regain his senses, however, Valerie fired an ecto-containment net at him, trapping him within. A shadow swept over him and he looked at Valerie standing over him, twin red-hot blaster cubes hovering above her shoulders and pointed straight at his head. "Now, I'm going to end this, once and for all. Goodbye forever, Danny Phantom."

Danny's eyes widened in fear, and he struggled to free himself, but whatever material had been used in the net was too strong for even him to break. As panic began to flood his body, he felt the animalistic desire to survive consume him. The net began to freeze, and he burst free, sending small shards of ice in all directions. As he stood, his narrowed eyes locked on Valerie, the green orbs now glowing bright with anger. "That does it. I'm through playing nice with you. You want a fight? Bring it on."

Valerie matched Danny's rage with a glare of her own, and she directed the two energy cubes towards him, but before they could fire, Danny blasted both to pieces.

Valerie growled, bringing her wrist level with the ghost as a small mounted blaster emerged from the arm of her battle suit. Again, Danny beat her to the punch, and before she could fire, the blaster had been destroyed by one of his ghost beams, and she clutched her wrist in pain, feeling the heat from the frayed circuits singeing her skin. "You're gonna pay for that, ghost."

She lunged at Danny, only to find her hands caught within his. "The check's in the mail, babe," he returned, a smile creeping along his face. Valerie noted, however, that it wasn't one of his normal, playful smiles. This was a dark, almost sinister smile.

Rearing back, Valerie head-butted Danny hard, her helmet cracking at the force of the impact, and it forced Danny to let go of her as he reeled back in pain. Valerie took immediate advantage of Danny's slight disorientation and threw a hard punch at his head.

By sheer luck, Danny managed to sense the incoming strike before it made contact and ducked. From his lower position, he was able to let loose with a powerful uppercut, catching Valerie hard in the face. The force of his strike shattered her helmet completely, lifting her a foot off the ground in the process, and she came down hard, landing flat on her back.

Valerie was absolutely stunned – not by the punch itself, but by the fact that Danny was willing to hit her so hard. The only other time Danny had ever fought with this kind of ferocity was when he fought against her suit while it had been possessed by that technologically-addled ghost. It scared her slightly, but she didn't let it show on her face. "So now what? Gonna lie again and try to convince me that you're not evil, that someone else is behind this?"

Danny glared at her, his eyes cold and devoid of emotion. "No. I'm _done_ trying to convince you."

Valerie gulped in fear. The coldness with which Danny spoke sent shivers down her spine, and seemed almost unnatural coming from _him_. She watched as a small but obviously powerful orb of energy coalesced in his right hand, and her eyes went wide in horror, panic gripping her like never before. She scooted backwards, trying to put some distance between her and the obviously murderous ghost. "What? No. Stop. Please, don't."

Her back pressed against a wall, and she closed her eyes, the reality hitting her that she was about to be destroyed by the very ghost she had hated. She couldn't believe this was how her life was going to end. As she gazed into Danny's green eyes, a single thought ran through her head. '_Maybe I pushed him too far this time._'

Danny glared at the girl as he held the energy ball in his hand, and as he looked at her without the helmet blocking his vision, he could clearly see the fear and terror etched on her face. Suddenly, his sister's words rang through his head: "_You're acting different, and to be honest, it's scaring me._"

Danny blinked, looking down at Valerie, and then at the ecto-energy ball still pulsing in his hand. '_Jazz was right. I am different._'

When Valerie realized that she wasn't feeling the searing pain of her body being ripped apart by ghostly energy or the icy cold touch of death's embrace, she cautiously opened her eyes. When her eyelids finally parted enough that she could see, she found Danny Phantom gone.

- - - - -

That evening, Danny sat on the ledge of a high building, one of the oldest buildings in Amity Park, complete with stone gargoyles perched, like silent guardians, along the ledges. Whenever he had felt like life was beginning to overwhelm him, he came here. The peace and quiet helped him think, and as a ghost, the cold air that came with the high altitude didn't bother him.

He'd been sitting on the ledge since his fight with Valerie hours ago, constantly replaying the fight in his mind. Even with the time he had already spent, he just couldn't understand what had happened.

"What was I thinking? I almost did something back there that I would have regretted for the rest of my life. What is _happening_ to me?" he asked to the empty air.

A few buildings away, a figure watched Danny from the shadows, red eyes staring at the confused teen. "Such a pity – he was making such progress. I supposed I'll just have to push him harder." In a blink, the figure disappeared, leaving no trace that he'd been there at all.

- - - - -

**Poor Danny, just as he begins to see the light he is once again shoved down the path of darkness path.**

**So far this is the first chapter to feature an actual fight with Danny in ghost mode. Even better was that it had two fights.**

**I was a little unsure as to whether or not to give Danny his ice powers, but in the end I decided to just go for it. I'm glad I did since it gives me more to work with later on.**

**Just so you know Valerie's suit in the dream is her old red outfit that Vlad gave her, while and the one she uses in real life is the new black and red armor that Technus made. There is a reason for it and everything else I'm doing. Those who know the series well may be able to figure it out ahead of time.**

**Until Next time please remember to Read and Review, and**** if you have any questions or comments let me know.**


	6. Confessions

**Yay! Over 50 reviews and going strong. As always thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter.**

**Thank You, NinjaSheik Hivedragon, acosta perez jose ramiro, trent, Raph,**

**InvaderJohnny: Thank you, I really enjoy writing Danny being evil. Expect more fighting, more darkness, and more evil later! HAHAHAHA!**

**Ryu the Reapper: Danny's journey down the dark side has only begun, MWAMWAHAHAHAHHAHA!**

**CuCerenunnos: Yes Digital Phantom is an excellent beta reader. I encourage anyone doing a fic to seek her help. As for Ember, due to her having to be secret from everyone except Danny I'm limited right now to when she can appear. But she will be making more appearances as the story progresses. Until then I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Yuul: Don't worry you phrased it fine, and yes everything that Danny is going through is part of something bigger.**

**Navyman85: I know, I know, I'm really bad about updates done and I tend to procrastinate way, way too much. That is why I made sure to get this chapter up sooner. I'm also going to try to get future chapters up faster as well.**

**And as always thank you to my beta-reader DigitalPhantom.**

**Remember I always respond to anyone who reviews, and the more you say the more I respond.**

**Chapter 6: Confessions**

It was a bright and beautiful day in Amity Park. The sun shone high in the sky as the cool wind blew through the air, the comfortable temperature making it the perfect day to be outside.

However, Sam took no notice of the pleasant weather as she walked the familiar streets. Her mind was on other, more important things at the moment. Danny.

Sam hadn't seen or heard from Danny since yesterday when he had taken off to after the Phantom imposter and she was worried. She had tried calling him, but he didn't answer his phone, his e-mail, or the text messages she sent. The only thing that kept her from flying into a panic was that that she had managed to get a hold of Jazz and she confirmed that Danny was safe at home, but didn't want to talk. That did not sit comfortably with Sam. Something was going on with Danny and she was determined to get to the bottom of whatever was bothering him.

She walked up to the familiar door of Fenton Works and knocked. It was the weekend, so she was sure Danny would be home. Though she doubted that she would be able to see him since he was grounded, she still felt like she had to try.

The door opened and she was greeted by the familiar figure of Danny's mother dressed in her blue hazmat suit. "Hi, Mrs. Fenton. Is Danny home?"

Mr. Fenton nodded. "Yes, he's up in his room."

"Could I see him?" asked Sam hopefully.

Mrs. Fenton shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Sam. Danny's grounded, and he's not allowed to have any friends over."

Sam frowned. She had been afraid of this. With Mr. Fenton she might have had a chance to see Danny, but his mother was far stricter when it came to punishments then his father, and less likely to bend the rules, even for her. Still she had to try. "Please, Mrs. Fenton. I really need to talk to him. Just for a minute, I swear."

Maddie wanted to be firm. Danny had been acting out a lot lately, and he needed to learn that his actions had consequences. But after seeing the pleading look in the goth girl's eyes, she relented. "Alright, Sam, you can see him, but five minutes, that's all, understand?"

Sam nodded and quickly made her way to Danny's room. She was halfway up the stairs before being stopped by Mrs. Fenton.

"Sam?"

Sam turned to look down at the older woman. "Yes."

"Do you by any chance know what's been bothering Danny lately?" asked Maddie. She didn't like having to ask her son's friends about things that she as a mother should already know, but like it or not, she knew there were things that her son told them that he would never tell her.

Sam sighed and regretfully shock her head. "I wish I knew Mrs. Fenton. I wish I knew." On that slightly sad note, Sam continued her walk up the stairs.

As she reached the top of the stairs she heard loud metal music coming from behind Danny's door. _'And I thought my music was dark.'_

When she opened the door to Danny's room, she found him sitting at his desk biting his pencil, and working on what appeared to be homework. "Danny."

Danny didn't respond. The combination of loud music and whatever work he was concentrating on seemed to have made him deaf to the world around him.

She tried again, only slightly louder this time. "Danny." Again she received no response, causing her to frown in anger.

"Danny!"

Danny definitely heard her, and he jumped slightly, falling backwards out of his chair. Only his quick reflexes kept him from making a head dive into the floor, as he put out his hands behind him and went into a backward roll, landing in a crouch in front of her.

Sam smirked as she looked down at him. "Not bad. A two on the dive, but a ten for the landing," she teased.

Danny smiled as he stood. He switched off his stereo and turned to face his friend. "Hey Sam. What are you doing in here?"

Sam shrugged. "Just came by to say hi."

Danny shook his head. "No, I mean how did you get up here? My mom said I'm not allowed to have anyone over."

Sam shrugged. "I managed to convince her to let me in for a bit."

Danny had to admit he was impressed. Normally his mother was not this lenient with his punishments. That was usually his father. "Cool. So what did you want?"

"Just to see if you were okay," she replied. "You kinda took off after the whole Phantom imposter thing and I was worried something happened to you."

Danny rubbed his neck, remembering yesterday's horrid events. "Ya, sorry about that. Things got a little…intense when Valerie showed up, and I had to split," he said, hoping Sam didn't notice the panic and fear in his voice.

Sam's eyes went wide when Danny mentioned his ghost-hating, trigger-happy, loon of an ex-girlfriend. "What do you mean by 'intense'?" she asked. Valerie and the word 'intense' being used in the same sentence rarely meant something good. She also knew Danny had a habit of downplaying his battles so as not to worry her or anyone else.

Danny saw the accusatory look in Sam's eyes, and heard the insinuating tone in her voice, and smiled reassuringly. "Relax Sam, I'm fine. I mean, look at me. Not a scratch."

Sam frowned, and crossed her arm as she tapped her foot. "Danny?"

Danny sighed, knowing by the tone in Sam's voice that he wasn't fooling her. "No good huh?"

Sam shook her head.

"All right, you win." Danny closed his eyes and allowed his boy to relax. Slowly, bruises began to form on his face and forearms, and his right eye turned from its normal healthy color to a sickening blue and purple. It was a power Danny had developed months ago. By controlling his invisibility with pinpoint accuracy he could make specific areas of the top layer of his skin invisible, thereby hiding any bruises until they healed on their own. However, it wasn't easy to do, and it required a high amount of concentration.

Sam looked at Danny, seeing the many bruises that coved his exposed skin. Her gut told her that there were even more under his shirt, but she wasn't about to strip him to find out. Not that she wouldn't like to. She reached up and touched a large bruise on Danny's right cheek, causing him to wince in response, and she immediately pulled her hand away.

"Ow. Careful. That one's still tender," he said rubbing his swollen cheek.

"Sorry," she said. Though Danny could mask his injuries, that didn't mean they didn't still hurt. It was simply a way for him to hide the injuries received in battle in order to help keep his identity a secret. However, he often also used it to try and hide his injuries from her, Tucker, and Jazz, despite the fact they already knew his secret. Recently though Sam had begun to learn how to see through Danny's trick based on how he carried himself.

Sam wasn't sure how long she was staring but it must have been a while because Danny caught her looking at him.

"Ahh…Sam, are you okay? Cause the staring at me thing is really kinda creepy."

Sam felt a deep blush color her cheeks. All the ghost fighting Danny did had helped him to develop a fighters body and Sam kept finding it harder and harder not to stare at him when they were alone. "Sorry, just…trying to see if she hurt you anywhere else. That's all."

Danny smiled at his friend's concern for him. "Thanks, but seriously, I'm fine. It looks a lot worse than it actually is. I mean, yeah, Valerie got in a couple of good hits. A couple of really good hits, but it's nothing. I've taken way worse before," he said, hoping that she didn't hear the regret in his voice.

Sam smirked, remembering some of Danny's more serious injuries. "No kidding. Like when you broke your arm fighting Vlad, or when Skulker gave you that scar across your back. Not to mention that time Ember almost burned her name into the back of your skull."

Danny was surprised by Sam's off handed mention of the blue-haired ghost. He decided to use the opportunity to find out Sam's attitude toward the musical ghost. If he was lucky, this might be the perfect opportunity to finally come clean about his secret relationship. "Ya know Sam, Ember's really not that bad. In fact, she's kinda cute."

Sam's jaw dropped slightly and she stared at Danny as if he'd grow a second head. Again. "What! Danny that's _Ember _you're talking about. As in the pscho ghost who tried to kill you. I mean, I know you haven't had much luck with women but come on, Ember? You can do much better than her." _'Like, me for example,'_ she thought.

Danny frowned. He had expected Sam to react like this but was still a bit disappointed by it. "And just what would be wrong with a relationship with Ember? Theoretically I mean. You know, if she were interested," he said, trying to make it sound like he didn't care.

Sam's eyes widened in shock not understanting why Danny was even bringing this up. "Look, all I'm saying is that there are better girls out there for you the Ember. Girls that aren't criminals."

"Name one," he said.

Sam faltered. She suddenly realized what kind of opportunity Danny was presenting her. _'Okay Sam, this is it. This is your chance to tell Danny how you feel about him. You can do it.'_ Sam opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to say the wrods that had been on her mind for months but found she couldn't.

Realizing her mouth wasn't listening to her brain Sam decided to try another method and quickly kissed Danny on the lips.

Danny froze in shock, and to a large degree, fear. _'Oh god, Ember's going to find out about this, and I'm going to die, slowly and painfully,' _he thought. Once the shock wore off and he realized Sam was still kissing him he firmly but gently pushed her away. "What the hell was that about?" he demanded.

Sam blinked, feeling tears begin to form in her large purple eyes. "You," she said, "It was about you and how I feel about you. I couldn't find the worlds to say to so I thought I should just show you." She took a deep breath to calm herself, though her next words still came out in a rush. "Danny, I love you. I've been in love with you for long time. Don't you feel the same?"

Danny inwardly cursed and his heartbeat quickened. While he'd had fantasies involving both Sam and Ember before he knew there was no way either Ember or Sam would be willing to share him. Surprisingly, he didn't want them to. '_In love, and mature. That's a new one. Now if only I could figure out a mature way to let Same down without breaking her heart.'_ "Ahh…Sam," he started, "You know I really care about you, and I value our friendship a lot, but that's all we are, friends.

Sam looked at Danny in confusion. "What are you saying Danny?"

Danny sighed, realizing that he was going to have to be more blunt. "I'm saying that I don't love you. At least not in the way that you want me to."

Sam stood there, completely stunned by Danny's words. Her mind was reeling as she pondered how she could have so grossly misjudged Danny's feeling for her. She opened and closed her mouth several times, but could not find the words to express the shook she was feeling.

The silence was finally broken as the door to Danny's room opened and Mrs. Fenton walked in. "Sam, it's time for you to go," said Maddie. The moment she entered the room, she sensed the tension in the air, and could tell that something big had happened between Danny and Sam. Though she wasn't sure what.

Sam nodded, allowing Mrs. Fenton to lead her out the door. On the walk down the stairs Sam was completely silent. As she left, she offered no form of goodbye and walked away without a word. It was as though her mind had completely shut down, and her body was operating on auto pilot.

Once Sam was gone Danny sighed and fell back into his chair. He'd never felt more emotionally drained in his entire life. He hated himself for having to hurt Sam like that, but what choice did he have? _'This relationship is getting harder all the time.'_

After escorting Sam out, Maddie returned to her son's room to find him sulking at his desk. It was obvious something was deeply troubling him, and she wanted to help him through it any way she could.

Over the past few days Maddie had tried her best to get her son to talk to open up to her about whatever was bothering him before, but to no avail. She asked her daughter, knowing that the two had, for some unknown reason, become much closer to each other, but it seemed Jazz knew about as much about Danny's recent behavior as she did.

"Danny, are you okay?"

Danny opened his eyes, seeing his mother looking at him with love and concern. "Yeah mom. I'm fine."

Maddie could see right through her son's transparent facade. He had been doing his best to hide his problems behind a wall of happiness and false confidence, but now that wall was beginning to crumble. There was a weariness in his eyes that she had never seen before, and seemed to only have been made worse by his confrontation with Sam. She walked over and sat down next to her son's bed. "Danny, if something's bothering you, you know you can tell me," she said.

Danny didn't respond. He wanted to tell his mother what was bothering him, he wanted to tell her everything that been happening lately, but he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.

Maddie sighed, realizing that her son was not going to confide in her. It hurt her to know that she had once again failed to reach her son, and she couldn't help but feel she had failed as a mother as well. Whatever was bothering him was obviously something he was trying to handle on his own, but was something he couldn't handle alone. She only hoped he realized it before whatever he was keeping inside became too much and destroyed him. She rose up to leave, but not before embracing her son in soft motherly hug.

Danny was surprised by the action, but returned the hug nonetheless.

"Just remember Danny. No matter what problems you have, or what mistakes you've made, you don't have carry the load alone. You have friends and family who will always stand by your side."

Danny smiled, doing his best to hold back the tears behind his eyes. "Thanks Mom. That means a lot to me." '_More then you'll ever know.'_

Once his mother was gone, Danny leaned back in his chair and sighed. This secret relationship was getting more complicated by the minute. Just as his mom had left the room, his ghost sense went off.

Danny frowned. He transformed and phased out through his window and floated outside his room. His muscles tensed and his eyes scanned up and down the street for any sign of the paranormal, as he produced a small ecto ball in his hands. "Whoever you are, you've got two seconds before I blast you into oblivion."

"Nice to see you too babypop."

At the sound of the familiar voice, a smile graced Danny's lips. His body relaxed and he extinguished the ball of energy in his hand. "Wish I could say the same," he quipped.

Instantly, ripples appeared in the air not far from where he was floating, as Ember materialized in front of him.

"So, what was the goth girl doing here?" she asked. There was coldness lying just beneath the surface of her words as she fought the waves of jealously at seeing the goth leave Danny's house.

To her surprise, Danny simply turned and phased back into his room without a word, leaving a very confused Ember in his wake. _'Okay? I thought I was supposed to be the moody one in this relationship.' "_What's up with him?" she asked herself, not bothering to hide the concern in her voice. _'Guess I better go find out,'_ she thought.

Ember entered the house with an air of caution. Being a ghost in a house full of professional ghost hunters was a little unnerving.

She found Danny no longer in his Phantom form, seated on the end of his bed, his eyes closed and his head leaning back. "Okay," Ember said crossing her arms in front of her, "I'm much better at singing than the whole concerned girlfriend thing, so I'm just going to be blunt. What's bothering you?"

Danny carefully opened an eye and looked her over at her. Despite her claim, her body posture suggested that she wasn't as bad at showing concern as she claimed. "Nothing," he said.

Ember rolled her eyes. "Come on babypop, spill," she said, concern warring with frustration.

Danny let out a deep breath. He then began explaining what had happened over the last few days: about his fight with Valerie, and how he kept losing his temper. He left out the part about Sam confessing her feelings to him. Even though he had completely turned Sam down, he didn't want to run the risk of Ember flying off the handle and attacking her.

Ember nodded slowly, understanding what Danny was saying, or rather, what he wasn't saying. "So you think just because you've been letting your anger get the best of you, you've taken your first step towards the dark side?" she asked carefully.

He nodded silently only now realizing how cheesy the words sounded once someone else said it.

Ember shrugged and sat down next to Danny on his bed. "Big deal. Like they say it's not what you do that makes you good or evil, it's why you do it. Take me for example. I have no problem being evil. Hypnotizing people and using them for my own ends doesn't bother me at all. You on the other hand get a little carried away and hurt someone, and mope about it all day. Hell you even regret it even though it was someone who was trying to kill. If that doesn't scream you're a good guy, then I don't know what does.

Danny sat up and smiled. "Thanks Ember. I really needed to hear that. And sorry I overreacted earlier. I've just had so much going on lately I haven't had time to really process any of it."

Ember smiled. "Anytime babypop. Now that that's out of your system, you ready to go out and have some fun?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Ember? Weren't you listening to what I said? After what happened with Dash I'm pretty much grounded for life."

Ember shrugged. "So? That's never stopped you before."

Danny felt the familiar of guilt rise up in him knowing the girl was right. This wasn't the first time Ember had tried to talk him into doing something he was against, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

That was actually part of what made their relationship so much fun, that Ember could manage to get him to do things he normally wouldn't do, things he'd never even think about doing. But Danny refused to budge and shock his head. "Forget it Ember. Not this time. I'm in enough trouble as it is."

Ember shrugged as a predatory grin crossed her face. "Suit yourself. If you won't come outto play then I guess we'll just have to stay in."

Danny looked at the girl like she had lost her mind. "Are you crazy? If my parents find out I have a girl in my room, let alone a ghost girl, they'll go ballistic." True, Danny did enjoy many of the dangerous and sometimes slightly illegal activities Ember seduced him into doing, but this was different. This wasn't just dangerous, it was downright stupid. All it would take was for someone to barge into his room, or for one of his parent's inventions to go off, and they'd both neck deep in trouble.

Ember smiled, her eyes sparkling with dark amusement. "Well then, we'll just have to make sure no one catches us, won't we?"

Danny bit his lip as Ember's familiar warmth washed over him, and felt his resistance begin to wane. "I don't know Ember. This just seems way to dangerous."

Ember smirked rolled her eyes. She leaned in close, whispering huskily into Danny's ear. "Ya well I like danger."

Danny could fell the warmth of Ember's breath on his neck, and it sent a pleasant shiver down his spine as the last bit's of his resolve begin to crumble. "Well…I guess I might be ok."

Ember smiled. "Good. Now then, what can we do to keep ourselves entertained?" she said, a playful yet sinful smirk crossing her face. "Any ideas babypop?"

Danny smiled playfully, playing along with Ember's game. "Why, Miss McLain, I do believe you're trying to seduce me."

Ember smirked, and pulled Danny close, running a finger across his chest. "Maybe?"

Not to be outdone, Danny took the initiative, grabbing her arm and quickly pulled her into a kiss. It was full of passion and she was surprised at first.

The two then started to make out right there in his room. Ember was so involved with the kiss that that she falled to notice when Danny slipped one hand down her back to her butt and squeezed it. The move was shocking and caused Ember to jump a bit in surprise. "Not bad babypop. If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd done this before," she said.

Danny smirked as he placed his hand back on Ember's back, much to her disappointment. "Let's just say I have a lot of free time very good imagination," he responded.

Deep down Danny knew that being with Ember right now was wrong. He should be deep in thought about his obvious anger issues, or trying to figure out who was behind the phony phantom, or at the very least trying to figure out how to explain his relationship to his friends. Instead he was ignoring his problem to indulge in pleasures of the flesh.

Yet he knew he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. Whenever he was with the blue spirit, all the problems and frustrations of his normal life seemed to simply disappear and it was during those times that he was happy, and able to escape all the pain and frustration that life seemed to constantly throw at him.

_Heaven._

_That was what was going through the white-haired teen's mind as he sat cuddled with his blue-haired girlfriend. And indeed it was true. Yes, this world was filled with dangerous terrain, murderous occupants, and deadly creatures. But there were times when the clouds cleared, the screaming stopped, and all was peaceful. Currently the two were nestled under a black tree that had no leaves on it, stationed on a patch of earth as it floated through the endless void that he now called home._

"_So what do you want to do today?" he asked._

_The girl didn't answer, or show any sign of acknowledging the question. He waved his hand in front of her face, attempting to entice some form of reaction. "Ember? Hello, Ember. Anyone home?"_

_The boy frowned. He looked around to find that it was not just the girl who had stopped, it was everything. The ghostly animals that flew though the void, the rock they were floating on, even the swirling black and green energy of the void itself was frozen in place. "What the hell's going on? It's like time has stopped."_

"_That's exactly what has happened, young Daniel." _

_The boy turned around to see a small portal opening behind him. Out of that portal stepped a very familiar and ancient ghost._

"_Clockwork?" said the boy. "What are you doing here?"_

"_I am here to give you a warning, young half-ling," said the ghost. "These dreams you have had…they are far more than they seem." _

_The boy was shocked by that. How was it possible the spirit knew about the odd dreams he had been having. "My dreams? What do you know about them?"_

"_That they are a message to you, of a possible impending doom," he said. "Time is running out." _

"_What do you mean? What's going happen? Is Ember going die? Is that what my dreams are about!" he said, becoming both worried and angry._

_Clockwork remained silent, which only served in enraging the boy more, as his green eyes began to glow with energy. "What's gonna happen? TELL ME!"_

_The ancient ghost was unaffected by the boy's anger and simply went on with the message he had come to deliver. "Only you have the power…and the Time…to stop this." As those words left his lips, the boy noticed another portal opening on the ground. This time behind Ember. A dark figure with glowing red eyes stepped out of the new portal, and raised its hand to strike her down._

"_NOOOOOOO! EMBER!"_

_He leapt from his position, and charged towards the girl, trying to save her. He got there and tackled her to the ground, hoping that he saved her in time. _

-Line Break-

But when he got up to look around for the assailant, he only saw his room. No portals, no creature, and no Clockwork. _'What was that?' _he wondered._ 'Was it just another weird dream, or was it something else?'_

"Something wrong, babypop?"

Danny quickly turned, taking on a battle stance, and forming a small but powerful ball of energy in his hand. However, the only thing he saw was Ember lying on his bed, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and worry. Apparently, his sudden leap from the bed had awakened the blue spirit. Danny relaxed from his battle stance, extinguishing the ball of energy and shook his head. "Nothing. I just thought I saw something, that's all."

Ember gave Danny a strange look. She was begging to wonder if maybe there _was_ something wrong with him. He seemed like his normal self, but he also seemed to constantly be on edge. She knew he was under some stress, and that she was part of the stress but she couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it than that. "Are you ok Danny?" she asked, real concern in her voice this this time.

Danny smiled one his fake smiles that Ember had yet to learn to see through. "I'm fine Ember. It was just a dream."

Ember smirked. "And just what was your dream about?"

"Danny smiled sheepishly. "Actually it was about you."

"Oh," Ember said suddenly, a mixture of curiosity and mischief written across her face as she turned over onto her stomach. "And just what were we doing in this dream?"

Danny smirked and rolled his eyes as sat back down on the bed next to Ember. "Nothing that we haven't already done today."

Ember pouted briefly then got a playful smirk. "And just how does your little dream compare to the real thing?" she asked, folding her hands together and resting her chin on them.

Danny shook his head. "It doesn't. Reality always trumps fantasy, because reality…" He leaned in, and dropped a light kiss on her lips. "Is tangible."

Ember managed not to blush as she gazed up into Danny's warm blue eyes. Like always she found the passion that she expected to see, but also something else as well. It wasn't lust. It was something different, something softer, almost like…. '_No'_ she thought. _'It can't be what it looks like. I'm just seeing what I want to see.'_ The though gave her pause. She cared deeply for Danny. Deeper than she had for anyone else. But did she really want to see love in his eyes? It bothered her that she didn't have an answer.

Suddenly the teens' bliss was interrupted by a knock on the door.Before Danny could do anything, the door opened, and in walked his sister.

Danny's eyes went wide in panic and his heart rate soared, realizing he was caught. There was no way he would ever be able to explain this.

"Jazz. I…I can explain," he said hastily, even though he had no idea how he could possible explain him standing in his room, in his human form, with one of his most deadly enemies lying comfortably in his arms on his bed.

"Explain what?" asked Jazz.

Danny looked around his room, realizing that Ember was nowhere in sight. _'Wow, she's fast.'_ He looked back at his sister, who was still looking at him with a curious expression. "Explain…why my room is such a mess."

Jazz raised an eyebrow as she looked around her brother's room. This was the cleanest she'd seen his room in weeks. "Okay…I just wanted you let you know that dinner was ready. Are you okay, Danny? You look a little flushed."

"Fine," he said hastily, hopping his sister didn't hear the panic in his voice. "I'm fine. I'm just a little hot."

Jazz looked at her brother suspiciously. She had a nagging feeling that something was amiss but she couldn't figure out what. There was a chill in the air, but the widow wasn't open, nor was the air conditioner on. Reluctantly, she left the room.

Once the door shut, Danny sighed in relief, as Ember rematerialized in front of his dresser. "That was a close one," he said.

Ember nodded. "No kidding. I better get going before the rest of your family barges in," she said, her voice holding the same mixture of slight panic and relief. Despite being a wild child and having a love for danger she wasn't stupid. She knew when stay and fight, and when to run.

Danny frowned, slightly disappointed with Ember's decision to leave. "You just had to go and be the mature one, didn't you?"

Ember smirked, resting her hands on her hips. "One of has to and you're way too much of a kid to pull that off."

Ember walked over to Danny's window and preparing to fly through it. Turning back to Danny, she offered up a fake smile. "Don't worry babypop. I'll be back."

Before Ember could fly away, Danny lightly grabbed her wrist. "Just one more thing," he said as he pulled her back into the room and into a brief but passionate kiss.

Ember was surprised by the kiss but enjoyed it none the less. "What was that for?"

Danny shrugged. "Just something to tide me over tile next time."

Ember smirked. "Greedy, aren't we."

Danny smiled. "If I am it's only because you're rubbing off on me."

Ember smirked. She leaned in and gave Danny a long kiss before pulling away and phasing through the window as she flew off into the night sky.

Danny's watched Ember's form disappear until long after he could no longer see her before regretfully tearing himself away from the window. "I knew a secret relationship wouldn't be easy," he reminded himself. "But I didn't think it would be this hard. I wish there was some way to tell people without actually telling them," he said to himself. Suddenly his ghost sense went off. He ignored it however, believing it was simply a response to Ember's disappearing energy.

While Danny was enjoying his personal time with Ember, a different event was taking place across town.

That night, at the local newspaper known as 'The Report' ace reporter Lance Thunder was working late in his office. The Report was the most widely read paper in all of Amity Park. He shivered as a cold chill ran down his spine, he looked to find a window open near his desk. Standing, he rose from the seat behind the desk and walked over to shut the window. When he returned, he found an envelope lying on his desk. Picking it up, he examined the small manila envelope. There was no writing on it: no name, no address, no stamp…in fact, the back wasn't even sealed.

He looked around for a moment, but found no one else in the room. Walking outside to the main newsroom, he was greeted only by emptiness.

Curious, he finally opened the envelope, finding an assortment of photographs inside. What was displayed in the pictures made his eyes go wide, first in shock, then in joy. "I think I just figured out tomorrow's big story."

From across the street, a figure with red eyes watched from the roof and smiled. "Hope you enjoy the fame, Danny."

**Just a heads up that the next chapter may take a little time. The reason is because the events and conversations of the next two chapters are very closely intertwined so I'm going to be working on both at the same time. **

**And just to tempt you I'll tell you the next chapter is titled, 'Secrets Revealed'.**

**Until then please Read, Review. I accept all types of comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism.**


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